Local actress performed for life
SAXONBURG — It’s not possible to explain 95 years of a woman’s life in a single article.
It’s not possible to explain them in a dozen articles. Or a thousand pictures. Or 100 theater shows.
But Margaret Cahill left behind more than those when she died at the age of 95 Oct. 3.
“She was a living treasure,” her daughter Bonnie Cahill said.
“She meant a lot of things to a lot of people,” her daughter Carli Cahill added.
That’s true.
Margaret was “Peg” to her childhood friends. She was “Meg” to her children. She was “Margaret” to her tax clients and “Mrs. Cahill” to her students.
And, of course, she was “Maggie” to her theater friends.
“I think it was her way of identifying with a group,” Bonnie said.
Margaret gave her last performance at the age of 90. During her life, she was involved with over 100 productions — about 40 of which were in Butler.
She worked with both Butler Little Theatre and the Musical Theatre Guild of Butler.
According to her daughters, Margaret was dedicated to BLT. She held several administrative positions over the years and once paid the theater electric bills herself because the year’s pledges weren’t in.
The first BLT show Margaret was involved in was “Tea House of the August Moon” in September 1966. Margaret showed up at a board of directors meeting and volunteered herself — and Bonnie — to do makeup for the show.
She taught school and acting classes and always, always had a German cookie Christmas party.
This is an excerpt from a much longer article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read more about Maggie Cahill’s life.
