Margaret Verdery

Margaret (Peg) Anne Verdery passed away peacefully in Salt Lake City, UT surrounded by loved ones and family at the age of 82 on July 4, 2023. 

Peg was born May 31^st, 1941 in Rapid City, SD to Fremont Fairfield Clarke and Elizabeth Jean (Williams) Clarke, becoming the youngest sister of the late Douglas Clarke and the late Katherine Clarke Bissell. As a child, she resided throughout the Midwest and in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. After graduating high-school and attending the University of Minnesota, where she was a Kappa Kappa Gamma sister, she married and moved to Western, MA. She gave birth to her children Barry (Mel) Galvin and Kim Galvin Denkers and raised them in Shelburne Falls, MA. In 1992, she married the love of her life, the late Daniel Verdery, in a ceremony in their garden in Northfield, MA and became the step-mother to Ashton Verdery. She resided on School Street in Northfield until she retired and moved to Heber City, UT to be closer to her children.

Peg loved reading a good book, skiing, riding horses, enjoying delicious food, and entertaining friends. She knew how to decorate a table for any event and graciously host a joyous party. An avid and accomplished gardener and floral arranger, she took great pleasure in the streamside gardens she and Dan created in Northfield, especially when they could welcome friends, neighbors and community members for a casual stroll. An adventurous spirit, she and Dan shared a love of traveling, especially to the South of France where they had a home in Cereste, Vaucluse.

Peg worked for many years in independent schools, in particular at Stoneleigh Burnham School in Greenfield, MA and Bement School in Deerfield, MA. Service and helping others defined her professional and associational life, where she wove her kindness around many. After retirement, she found immense joy in volunteering at the National Ability Center in Park City, UT and Heber Valley Hospital in Heber City, UT. In Utah, she was a parishioner at St. Luke’s Episcopalian Church in Park City and a member of the Park City Newcomer’s club, where she established new friendships. While enjoying retirement, she put others at the center of her life, leaving a lasting impression by giving her love and attention to everyone around her. 

She leaves behind her children Barry Galvin and his partner Erin Sullivan, Kim Denkers and her husband Blake Denkers, and Ashton Verdery and his wife Amanda Byrd, her grandchildren Kellen Denkers, Adalaide Galvin, Elodie and Emmeline Verdery, her niece Stephanie Obando and her husband Javier Obando and their children Sammy and Isabella Obando. She was broadly loved by many, including Daniel’s brothers, sister, and their spouses and children, Doug’s wife and children, and a large group of friends.

In lieu of flowers, Peg would wish that you consider a donation to the National Ability Center, which was dear to her heart. A service will be held at a later date.