This article appears as a donor profile story honoring the life and legacy of Marguerite McMahon in the spring 2022 edition of Extension magazine. To learn more about Planned Giving, please visit legacy.catholicextension.org.
In 2020 a prominent Chicago educator and woman devoted to her family was welcomed into eternal life. However, her life’s mission has not ended.
Although she has passed on, her legacy of helping the Church and sharing the gift of education with others will continue.
Marguerite McMahon left a generous planned gift to Catholic Extension Society that will support the education of seminarians in perpetuity.
These future priests come from and are preparing to serve the poorest regions of the country. Her final gift reflects the vocation she followed in her own life—to develop the next generation through quality education.
McMahon was born in Chicago in 1924 to Irish immigrant parents. She grew up on the South Side on Princeton Avenue and was the youngest of three children.
A Chicagoan all her life, she was devoted to the city and her favorite teams: the White Sox and the formerly Chicago-based Cardinals football team.
After completing high school, she pursued a career in education—one of the few professions open to women at the time.
She graduated from Chicago Teachers College in 1946 and began teaching third grade.
In 1956 she earned a master’s degree in education at DePaul University and became assistant principal at James Shields Elementary School.
Four years later, she embarked on a new, daunting challenge: principal of Davis Elementary School.
The school was located in a lower-income, high-crime neighborhood. She often told the story about how, when she first got the job, she brought her parents to see her new workplace. It was covered in graffiti. For McMahon, the state of the school was unacceptable. Five years later, she was excited to bring back her parents. The building was completely cleaned up.
“She took a lot of pride in making sure things were nice,” said Ann Eiden, her niece.
McMahon’s transformation of Davis Elementary School went far beyond physical appearance. She developed a system that allowed the children to advance in their education at their own pace.
Eiden said,
It was always really important to her that each child do as well as they could at whatever level that might be. She wanted everybody to have the best chances in life that they possibly could.”
Through her relationship-building and leadership, she helped the school establish a stable and healthy presence in the community. She knew all of the families and police officers.
“The kids loved her. The parents loved her. There was a lot of mutual respect,” said Eiden.
An undying commitment to the Church
During this time she was also heavily involved in her parish, St. Thomas More. For several years she also served as president of the Aquin Guild, an association of Catholics teaching in public schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
She volunteered at all of the parish’s celebrations and events. She maintained strong friendships with priests, even after they moved on to new assignments.
Paul Joyce, her nephew, said,
She saw a priest as the mainstay of the Church.”
After more than three decades in education, McMahon retired as principal of Davis Elementary School in 1982.
However, she did not slow down. She took up work as a paralegal, traveled the world and enjoyed her favorite hobbies: bowling and golfing. As always, she contributed her time and generosity to her family, her parish and many Catholic organizations, including Catholic Extension Society.
McMahon is remembered by her family as a woman of great intelligence, integrity, loyalty and faith.
In following her own calling, she shaped a generation of students on the South Side. Similarly, she understood the value of a quality education for men on the path to priesthood.
Her many years of support to Catholic Extension Society contributed to the education of thousands of priests serving in faith communities today.
Through her parting gift, countless more seminarians will develop the extensive knowledge and skills necessary to carry on the work of the Church—now and far into the future.
Join the Legacy Club!
Give a gift that will last longer than any lifetime. Join our Legacy Club by including a bequest to Catholic Extension Society in your will or trust. To learn more, visit legacy.catholicextension.org or contact the Planned Giving Team at 800-842-7804 or plannedgiving@catholicextension.org.
