Retired teacher Margaret L. "Peg" McKibben, 85, of 407 East Clen-Moore Blvd. died March 18, 2004, in Jameson Hospital after a brief illness.
Mrs. McKibben spent her entire 44-year career as a teacher at the former Arthur McGill Elementary School, where she had been a student for four years. She taught dramatics before becoming a fourth-grade teacher for 30 years.
When she retired in 1986, she was No. 1 in seniority among all teachers in the New Castle Area School District.
Eugene DeCaprio, assistant superintendent of schools at the time, said of Mrs. McKibben, “Peg represented the classic model of a teacher, a dedicated professional who expected the best from her students and who was well versed in her field. She made learning exciting.”
Mrs. McKibben attended the program that marked the closing of the McGill school in 1988, and her earliest students recalled her as director of two operettas performed on the stage of the former George Washington Junior High School --- “Tom Sawyer" in 1946 and "Treasure Island” in 1948.
Mrs. McKibben graduated in 1936 from New Castle High School, where she edited the yearbook, won the Latin and English prizes and acted in plays directed by Clara M. Hartsuff. She graduated from Westminster College in 1940.
Born June 30, 1918, in New Castle, she was a daughter of Clyde Stewart McCracken and Alyce Amos McCracken.
In 1954, she married Robert E. McKibben. He died in 1995.
Mrs. McKibben was former president of the Junior Woman's Club and a member of the New Castle Civic Club, Jameson Hospital Junior Guild, the Pennsylvania Retired Teachers Association, Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity Junior Guild and Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority.
She is survived by a sister, Janis M. Miller of Ada, Mich.; a nephew, Jeffrey S. Miller of Dryden, Mich., and McGill alumni who remember her as a teacher and friend.
A service was conducted Monday, March 22. Burial was in Oak Park Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the McGill Community Center, 1701 Albert Street, New Castle, PA., 16105, and the New Castle Public Library, 207 East North Street, New Castle, PA., 16101.
Comments from...
Marilyn Canon Harris
West Chester, Pa.
How I loved "Miss McCracken" and so enjoyed being in the McGill plays. One of my happiest memories of elementary school. She was a grand lady! She was in the same high school class at NeCaHi as one of my favorite uncles. I remember how happy I was about that as a child.
My Mother died at the age of 92 last summer in New Castle...drove her car until the day before she died. Her death and closing up my childhood home through last autumn evoked many memories of growing up in New Castle. So many wonderful memories and days at McGill and Miss McCracken were among them indeed.
Jean McIlwraith Tebay
Jupiter, Florida
She was a one-of-a-kind teacher. Her passing marks the end of an era for many of us.
Bill Mitchell
Merritt Island, Florida
I remember her with much affection. She had humor and much talent. The Tom Sawyer play was a lot of fun. It said that the illness was short, for which I am grateful.
