Margaret “Peggy” M. Pataki, 101, the mother of former New York Gov. George E. Pataki, died April 3, 2017, at her family’s home in Garrison. She lived most of her life in Peekskill on the Pataki family farm.
Peggy was born on Dec. 7, 1915, in New York City, the daughter of Matteo Lagana of Calabria, Italy and Anges Lynch of Louth, Ireland. Her childhood was spent in Manhattan, and her teenage years in Peekskill and Setauket. She gave up a scholarship at Cornell University to support her family as a waitress during the Great Depression. In 1938, in Peekskill, she married Louis Pataki, the former Peekskill assistant postmaster, who died in 1996.
She was a member of the Women’s Club of Peekskill-Cortlandt, a director of the Irish Hunger Memorial and a Good-Will Ambassador for the New York State Commission on Aging. She also was an avid bridge player and she enjoyed seeing and greeting friends at the farm.
Peggy is survived by her two sons: George E. Pataki (Libby) of Garrison and Louis P. Pataki Jr. (Jane) of Norwalk, Connecticut. She is also survived by six grandchildren — Jonathan Pataki, Emily Pataki-Hamburger, Daisy Pataki-Rood, Teddy Pataki, Allison Pataki-Levy and Owen Pataki — and 10 great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends on April 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. and April 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the E.O. Curry Funeral Home in Peekskill. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. on April 10 at the Church of the Assumption in Peekskill, followed by interment at the Assumption Cemetery in Cortlandt Manor.
As a child, I first met Peggy at the farm stand and later through her support of and attendance at the Paramount Theatre events. A lovely person! She will be fondly remembered by many.