Margaret Anne "Maggie" Meredith

Margaret “Maggie” Anne Meredith,85, of Fredericksburg, VA formerly from St. Mary’s County, MD passed away on April 15, 2020 in Callaway, MD. She was born on November 29, 1934 in Baltimore, MD, she was the loving daughter of the late Mary Ester Goddard Scanlon and John Matthew Scanlon. Maggie was the loving wife of the late Edward Ralph Russell, Sr whom she married in March 1, 1952 in St. Benedicts, Baltimore, MD and who preceded her in death in September, 1962, along with her 2nd husband the late John Thomas Meredith whom she married on November 24, 1963 in St. George’s Episcopal Church in Valley Lee, MD and who preceded her in death on December 8, 2010. Maggie is survived by her children Edward R. Russell, Jr (Maria) of Evans, GA, Sharon R. Mattingly (B.I. “Butch”) of Leonardtown, MD, Sandra R. Russell of Spotsylvania, VA, John M. Russell, Sr. (Marie) of Lexington Park, MD, Nancy Rowe Lattif (Dado) of Lexington Park, MD, Mark Rowe and Daniel Rowe(Kaci) both of Atlanta, GA, and Mike Rowe ( Norma) of Charlotte, NC, 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her siblings Joseph Scanlon, Sr, Agnes R. Poe, John Scanlon, Jr, and Joann Scanlon. Maggie moved to St. Mary’s County, MD from 1952 to 1992. In 1992 John and Maggie retired to Englewood, FL. She was a Homemaker. Margaret was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. When she married her first husband, Edward, she moved from Baltimore to St. Mary’s County. Margaret met Edward on a blind date set up by a friend. She discovered that Edward’s mother, Sarah Russell, was her mother’s best friend in elementary school. Edward and Margaret had four children. Edward passed away in a fishing accident at the age of 31 and left Margaret to raise four young children. In order to make ends meet, Margaret continued to work her deceased husband’s crap pots until her mother in law told her that she may drown too, so she gave up the business and started taking courses at St. Mary’s College of Maryland so she could get a bookkeeping job at a local marina. Margaret’s niece set her up on another blind date with John Meredith, a confirmed bachelor. They married and spent 47 years together before he passed away in 2010. When John’s sister, Nancy, passed away in 1971, Margaret and John took on the responsibility of raising her four teenagers. There were now eight teenagers in the house ranging in age from 12-19. Family weekend trips were spent sailing or racing on the Patuxent and Chesapeake Bay, as charter members of the SMSA (Southern Maryland Sailing Association). She was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary (Chaplin) in Florida, Charter Member of the Southern Maryland Sailing Association, Member of the Daughter’s of the King, Sun and Fun and Camping Group. Margaret loved water color painting and playing Bridge, board and card games, loved spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, designing flower arrangements for the alter at her church, St. David’s in Florida. Following retirement, Margaret and John took on many adventures, traveling as far as Europe and Alaska, sailing to the Bahamas for the winter and finally settling in Englewood, FL. Together, Margaret and John volunteered with the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Florida, patrolling the Gulf coastline, teaching boating safety and conducting burial at sea for members of the Auxiliary family. Margaret loved playing bridge, music and painting. She was very artistic and gave many of her paintings to family and friends. Margaret loved visiting and playing with her eleven grandchildren and eight grandchildren who adored their Grand Mom. Due to the pandemic, her life celebration will be held later this summer, when family members can safely travel from across the United States. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite charity or to the Hospice House of St. Mary’s P.O. Box 625 Leonardtown, MD 20650 or St. George’s Episcopal Church 19167 Poplar Hill Lane Valley Lee, MD 20692.