Margaret Vergis, 72; active in Huntington Station civic affairs
Margaret Vergis, known as Peggy to friends and a driving force behind Huntington Station beautification and revitalization efforts, died Nov. 13 in Huntington Hospital after a five-year battle with diabetes, family members said. She was 72. Credit: Handout
Margaret Vergis, known as Peggy to friends and a driving force behind Huntington Station beautification and revitalization efforts, died Nov. 13 in Huntington Hospital after a five-year battle with diabetes, family members said. She was 72.
Known to family as "Grandma Beach" because of her passion for the seaside, Vergis enjoyed spending time near the water -- especially Huntington's Fleets Cove Beach -- with family and friends, clamming, fishing and enjoying the salty air, said her daughter-in-law, Kristin Vergis, 43, of Baltimore.
Her love of the outdoors extended beyond the sand. Vergis served on the board of the Huntington Business Improvement District and the Huntington Economic Development Corporation, and co-founded Citizens for a Better Huntington Station, a nonprofit group that works to beautify Huntington Station through sponsored projects.
"She was outspoken almost to a fault," said her son, Michael Vergis, 45, of Baltimore. "If she saw something wasn't right, she'd tell you."
When Vergis noticed a trash and litter problem in 2003, she spearheaded an agreement with a CVS Pharmacy to fund garbage cans on the local sidewalks. The project provided more than 100 trash cans, and volunteers cleaned up about 300 bags of trash off the streets, according to her son. The group also spoke out against commercializing bus stops with heavy advertising.
Vergis supported local youth programs through dedicated involvement, her son said. She coached Little League softball, always insisting to her players that teamwork and good sportsmanship are important lessons useful for the rest of their lives, he said, and served as a troop leader in Boy and Girl Scout companies, once halting traffic in Times Square to give her scouts time to cross the street.
"She always made everybody in the room feel welcomed and cared for," her daughter-in-law said. "Everywhere she went, she made friends."
Vergis was born in Huntington Station in 1940 and lived there her entire life, her daughter-in-law said. Her parents owned a bakery and children's clothing store in Huntington. She attended Huntington High School and then SUNY Oswego, where she studied education before she married Hugh Vergis in 1961.
She received the 2005 New York State Women of Distinction award for her "commitment to improving the quality of life" in Huntington Station.
In addition to her son, Vergis is survived by her daughter, Melissa Marasciullo, of Laurel Hollow; sisters Carol Keane, of Huntington Station, and Ethel DelAquilla, of Syracuse; and five grandchildren.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
