SOMERS POINT, NEW JERSEY – Margaret E. (Novack) Gargone, 96, of Somers Point, New Jersey, beloved mother and grandmother, went home to the Lord peacefully on Dec. 17, 2017.
Born in Mount Carmel, Margaret was a lifelong resident of the Atlantic City area. Margaret left her hometown in 1936 to live with her oldest sister and her husband stationed at Fort Hoyle in Harford County, Maryland. In 1939, Margaret graduated from St. Margaret’s High School in Bel Air, Maryland. After graduation she waitressed at banquets in the Officer’s Club. There she made the acquaintance of Captain Dafuse and his wife. They recommended her to Col. Winslow, who hired her to run his household at Fort Hoyle. She became a companion to his wife. Together they traveled to Camp Gruber in Oklahoma to open a USO show. While at their estate in Millbrook, New York, Margaret accompanied the colonel and his wife to teas and lunches with President and Mrs. Roosevelt.
It was during their employ that Margaret met and married Anthony Gargone in 1940. Anthony was a serviceman in the U.S. Army. Due to his transfer they lived on base at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Unfortunately, their marriage was short lived. Anthony succumbed to injuries sustained from being a welterweight Army boxer.
Margaret first returned to Pennsylvania beginning her civilian career working in Sunbury, assembling the black boxes to be used in submarines. She was drawn back to Maryland during the era of “Rosie the Riveter.” She worked at the Glen L. Martin Company building airplanes. At Fort Meade, she prepared trucks to be shipped overseas. This took her to Newton, Massachusetts, where she graduated from auto mechanics school for the U.S. Army.
Margaret enlisted in the Women’s Army Corp in 1945 and did basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. She was trained at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, as a surgical technician. She served at Thomas M. England General Hospital, formerly Chalfonte-Haddon Hall and now Resorts International Hotel-Casino. Her final military assignment was in neurosurgery at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas. She was honorably discharged at the end of World War II and given a World War II Victory Medal.
Margaret married William Gargone in her hometown of Mount Carmel on Oct. 16, 1946. Having served in Atlantic City, they decided to settle down there. She worked as a surgical technician at both Atlantic City and Shore Memorial hospitals. She also had fond memories waitressing at Chalfonte-Haddon Hall. Later she was employed by the Pageant Motel, The Mayflower Hotel, Resorts International Hotel-Casino, Comfort Inn and Seaview Marriott as assistant and head housekeeper.
Proud of her service in the military, Margaret participated in many parades often carrying the flag. She joined the American Legion Post 334 where she held the position of secretary. She was a charter member of the National World War II Museum and listed member in the U.S. Army Women’s Museum.
Amongst all this, Margaret was a loving, devoted, proud mother and grandmother. Margaret spent most of her retirement residing in Smithville, New Jersey. She worked part-time at The Shoppes of Smithville, but most of all enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.
Margaret was steadfast in her Catholic faith. She was a parishioner in many of the Absecon Island’s RC Churches during her lifetime. Her most devout dedication was to St. Nicholas of Tolentine. She attended Mass daily by taking two buses to get there from Smithville since she never obtained a driver’s license.
She is survived by two sons, Robert Gargone (Frances), of Galloway, and Anthony Gargone, of Woodbine; one daughter, Patricia Gonzalez, of Somers Point; two grandchildren, Gina Gargone, of Taos, New Mexico, and Michael Gonzalez, of Glen Cove, New York; two step granddaughters, Christina Gonzalez and Melissa Denning (Jack), both of Egg Harbor Township; one step grandson, Jose Gonzalez Jr. (Sarah), of Northfield; six great grandchildren, Tyler, Julie, Taylor, Kacey, Maeve and Madison, and many nieces and nephews.
Margaret was preceded in death by 12 siblings and two husbands.
