ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Margaret

Davis Moose, a writer and longtime resident of Alexandria, Va., died on August 10, 2020, at home after a brief illness.

Margaret Lee Davis was born May 18, 1931, in Little Rock, Ark., to William Rhea Davis and Lula Smith. She was a graduate of Little Rock Senior High School (now Little Rock Central High School). She graduated Barnard College in 1953 and then from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where she studied with Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham. Margaret appeared in productions off-Broadway and in a television series in Little Rock, Ark. She was also part of the USO, performing in Europe in 1956.

Margaret married Richard Menifee Moose, also from Little Rock, on December 23, 1957. They lived in Mexico City where her husband was assigned as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, and where their son, Jeffrey, was born; and then in Yaounde, Cameroon, where her husband was a member of the staff that opened the first United States embassy there in 1960. She moved to Alexandria, Va., where her daughter, Amanda, was born, and lived in Alexandria for over 30 years, receiving a master’s degree at the University of Maryland in English Literature. She traveled the world, including with Miss Lillian Carter to Africa in 1978. Margaret did some reporting for NPR in the early 1980’s during the Iran hostage crisis, and later lived in London and New York City for several years with her husband. Margaret published her first novel, Happy Days (Simon & Schuster), in 1974, which was set in a junkyard much like the one she grew up in. She self-published her final novel, Kidnapping Elephants in 2020. Margaret was a proud Democrat and an avid supporter of local and national candidates, most significantly President an accomplished Bill Clinton. gardener She was and cook, and a proud member of the Alexandria Literary Society for 37 years. She had two siblings, Atley and Miriam, now both deceased, also from Little Rock. Her husband, Richard, died in 2015. She is survived by two children, Jeffrey and Amanda; and by grandchildren, Elias, Lea, Sam Henry, and Lily Mae.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to At Home in Alexandria (AHA). Service will be scheduled at a later date.