MARGARET ELMSLIE WHITTINGTON's Obituary
Margaret Elmslie Whittington, age 93, died peacefully in her sleep on June 26, 2016, in her home in South Miami, Florida.
Margaret is survived by her four children: David and Richard, of Miami, FL; Patricia, of Charlotte, NC; and Michael (Pamela), of Cocoa Beach, FL; and by four grandchildren: Allan (Loretta); Andrea (Joshua), of Charlotte, NC; Matthew and Jonathan David of NY, NY; and five great-grandchildren: Bella (10), Miles (9), Lila (8), Ewan (6), and Landon (5). Margaret is also survived by her brother-in-law Howard Hawkins of Daytona Beach, FL, his daughter Mary (Leonard) and son Scott, of Miami, FL; her half-sister Linda Elmslie Tillery (Patrick), of Pensacola, FL; and her half-brother Norman Elmslie “Scotty” (Natasha), of Fernandina Beach, FL.
Margaret is preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Arthur; their two sons John and Paul; her sister Helen Hawkins and her half-sister Gertrude Arundel, of NY.
Margaret was born on August 27, 1922 in Santiago, Cuba, to parents Norman Auld Elmslie, Sr. (1888-1964) and Maria Eulalia Elmslie (nee Portuondo del Pino; 1900-1993). Mr. Elmslie was a mining engineer working for Bethlehem Steel in Oriente Province, Cuba. Margaret’s mother Maria’s Cuban father also worked for Bethlehem Steel. Though Maria knew no English and Norman spoke very little Spanish love bloomed and her parents were married in 1920. Bethlehem Steel also had a mining interest outside Fairmont, WV and so Margaret and her younger sister Helen spent their childhood and teen years shuttling between these two places.
In 1941, after Margaret graduated from Fairmont HS she returned to Santiago to live with her mother. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base into WWII. Along with military training chaperoned dances were held at the base affording the naval officers the chance to dance with the local senoritas. Margaret and many of her girlfriends attended. As Margaret loved to dance, and more importantly, spoke English, she was the “belle of the ball”. It was at one of these dances that Margaret encountered her future husband. It was love at first sight for Margaret and Arthur, a tall, dark, handsome Navy officer who was assigned to submarine chaser school in Miami. So Margaret and her sister Helen, who had just graduated from Fairmont HS, went to work in Miami as government censors for the war effort giving Margaret three glorious months with her “novio” before he shipped out to the Pacific. After the war ended they were married in the spring of 1946 and a week later, sharing the same wedding dress, her sister Helen married her HS sweetheart Howard, a dashing young air force pilot from WV.
Margaret enjoyed her life as the wife of a Pan Am executive, a mother of six, teacher of Spanish, garden club officer, bridge club player. She was able to travel the world with Arthur and Pan Am. Her enthusiasms ranged wide: from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to Notre Dame football in South Bend. She was a much sought after Spanish teacher especially during the pre- and early-Castro years. She and Arthur helped many of her then suddenly impoverished friends from Cuba establish themselves in Miami. Decades later, her Cuban girlfriends, now no longer of modest means, would gather at monthly luncheons in the finest Gables restaurants.
She saw her kids make their way through West Lab Elementary, Ponce de Leon Junior High, and Gables and Columbus HS, and many prestigious universities, graduating with advanced degrees. The friends they made along the way led to Margaret’s many lifelong friendships with their families. Margaret was able to watch her four grandkids grow up, play, graduate, marry, and have her five great-grandkids.
It is Margaret’s expressed wish to be remembered as a cheerful person who loved her family deeply. She feels she had a wonderful life, “so do not grieve for me”.
Margaret and her family have been members of the Epiphany Catholic Church since moving to South Miami in 1953. Monsignor O’Dougherty and his associates have been a constant source of support and inspiration to Margaret especially in her declining years.
Visitation 5 – 9 pm Friday at VAN ORSDEL CORAL GABLES. Funeral Mass 11:00 AM Saturday at Epiphany Catholic Church, 8235 SW 57 Avenue. Burial Woodlawn Park North.
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