September 8, 1923 – January 29, 2021
Margaret Elizabeth Preece, 97, of Reading, MA, passed away peacefully on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at Artis Senior Living of Reading, MA. Margaret was born in Dunfermline, Scotland.
She was the daughter of Alice May McKenzie (Shearer) (deceased) and Hugh Ellis McKenzie, (deceased) sister of Aileen Dow (deceased) and Murielle Maddock (deceased). Her loving husband of 67 years, Royston Charles Preece who passed away a few years ago at the age of 91.
She leaves behind her sister, Rosemary Gabb, from Ross-on-Wye, England, and several nieces and nephews both in the United States and England. She also leaves behind her daughters Jennifer A. King and her husband, Robert King of Newton, NH, Allison E. Preece and her husband Sanjiv K. Bhatia of Reading, MA, and her son Anthony D. Preece of South Weymouth, MA. She also leaves behind five grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Margaret was elegant, intelligent, and beautiful with a magnificent dry British sense of humor, well-spoken and well-liked with many friends at Lord and Taylor Department Store where she worked for 37 years in better sportswear where she answered the phone in her British accent “Mrs. Preece, Better Sportswear!”. She had quite a following of devoted customers, especially during the Christmas season when many men relied upon her to suggest the absolute right gift for their wife or girlfriend, then she would beautifully wrap it. Her customers loved her sense of style and her talent at choosing the absolute right clothes for the right occasion. Margaret also worked as a fashion model in the 1960’s for R.H. Stearns.
Margaret worked at the British Telephone Exchange during WW2 in Bristol, England as a phone operator where she had to memorize a different secret code each day that was used to identify callers of high ranks placing calls / being connected to relay classified information crucial to the war efforts. She met Royston there, her future husband, who worked as an engineer at the exchange.
She traveled frequently to the U.K. She was a member of the British Charitable Society of Boston, attending several events also worked as a fashion model in the 1960s for R.H. Stearns her picture appearing in the Boston Globe during a photoshoot. Margaret was known for her elegance, style, and lovely British accent and sense of humor.
As a little girl at Alexandra Park School in Bristol, England, she was given a report “Certificate of Character” as she was a school monitor – having been awarded to give tea to the teachers, her report which she was very proud of said, “A girl of ladylike habits & bearing; quiet, unassuming but confident and will do well. Very reliable and trustworthy”, and this certainly was Margaret.
Charitable donations in her name may be made to the: British Charitable Society of Boston, c/o Mr. Anthony Revis, 501 Maple Meadows, 35 Maple Avenue, Sudbury, MA 01776
