Margaret (Maggy) Podges, age 104, passed away peacefully on October 18, 2023. She was born in 1919 to Irish parents living in Motherwell, Scotland. At the age of six, Margaret sailed with her mother, Mary Smyth, from Motherwell to Detroit to reunite with her father, Bernard. Margaret remembered much about that journey and arrival; first to Montreal, then to America, and a train ride to the beautiful, bustling Detroit Train Station on Michigan Avenue. She recalled how afraid she was but excited at the same time about the adventure.

She loved talking about the way Detroit was while she was growing up. It was the heyday of immigrants and of hearing others speak to their children in Polish, German, Italian, Yiddish, etc. For an only child with an English/Scottish upbringing, Margaret was learning fast about diversity. In their first apartment, they lived above their Jewish landlord and his family. Mr. Saperstein spoke Yiddish but, somehow, he and Bernard became close friends. When one family was busy attending their church or temple and celebrating their respective holidays, the other family would diligently tend to the coal to heat the house and shovel the snow. Margaret became a fast friend to little Bessy Saperstein and they wore down the stairway between their two apartments with their visits.

It was at the new Fordson High School where she met a handsome boy who kept making her laugh with sneaky notes he passed to her in class; he called her "Maggy". Alexander Paul Podges became her husband in 1940 and they were bonded together for 57 years. As an only child, Margaret happily adapted to life with five children. Later on, Al and Maggy welcomed the births of 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. They had little time to spare in the early years but later enjoyed travelling to Europe, Mexico, Alaska, Canada, South America, and her beloved British Isles.

When she became a widow, she never sat still. She walked independently until the age of 101. When her sight was still strong, she turned out dozens of needlepoint projects, kept up correspondence with the farm in Ireland and friends of her mother in Scotland, read biographies tirelessly, and never quit a Free Press crossword until she completed it. She followed politics, planted gardens, wrote lyrical essays, and never missed a chance to see and understand what was going on in the larger world. Maggy laughed easily and made others laugh just as easily with her wit and good humor.

Though she stood witness over the years to the passing of her husband, family, loved ones, and friend after friend, she carried on until she couldn't. A remarkable life.

Maggy was a beloved wife to Alexander for 57 wonderful years. Dearest mother of Jerry (Connie), Peggy (the late Jed), Brian (Louise), Patrick (Karen), and Chris (Barbara).

Funeral Mass will take place at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Friday, October 27, 2023, at 11am. Gathering will begin at the church at 10:30am. Interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.