Margaret "Maggie" Letitia Agnew Fortson Kwartin Egan died at home in Newton, MA, early on February 27, from complications of pneumonia. Born 1914, in Shelby, Ohio, Margaret Agnew grew up in Cleveland, the eldest of three daughters born to actress Mona Walter Agnew and Dr. Willliam Agnew. She attended Western Reserve University. She had a great love for theater, pursuing acting in Cleveland and in New York where she worked at McCall’s Magazine and modeled with new cars for Ford Motors at the World’s Fair. Maggie married John Lake Fortson in 1941. Their two children survive her: Deborah Lake Fortson of Brookline, MA and Thomas Burke Fortson of El Rito, NM. Mag and John Fortson moved to Westport, Connecticut where Maggie founded The Little School and directed it for twenty-five years. After the death of John Fortson, she married Paul Kwartin and was active in the life of Union Temple, Brooklyn, where Paul became cantor. After Paul Kwartin’s death, she married James Egan, whom she survived. Maggie was a loving grandmother to Benjamin Fortson Guzzetti, Sarah Fortson Guzzetti and Marah Lake Fortson Snoeyink. She is survived also by her great-grandchildren Jacob Lake Snoeyink, Kayla Snoeyink, and Tazio Ronald Guzzetti Mowat. Maggie was a loving stepmother to Terri Flaherty, Leslie Kwartin, and Robin Weiss. She is survived by their children Michelle DeRocco, Craig Flaherty, Digger Gardner, Courtney Carroll, and nine great grandchildren. She is missed in California by her niece and nephew, Patricia Rain and John Hodges, and grand-niece, Serena Rain.
Maggie was a passionate cook and diner, and was crazy about holidays. Every Thanksgiving, she lovingl hosted the combined family in a great feast theatricale that included poems, stories and songs. She loved music and up to her ninety-eighth year performed impromptu and with great flourish a wide repertoire of songs. She adored being outdoors, watching the progress of clouds and her close friend, the sun. Maggie was known for her beauty, her flair for style, her generosity, and her quick wit. She was a composer of macabre and limber limericks, and the perpetrator of lightning puns. We will deeply miss her lively spirits, her persevering energy, her wry, engaging smile, her verbal hijinks, and her love. A memorial gathering will take place in May, in Westport, CT.