Margaret Grace Shepherd returned to the Lord Friday, September 20th, after a long life of faith.

She was born in Brooklyn on January 20th, 1927 to Edward and Bernice Wiggins.

In September of 1948, she married the love of her life, John Shepherd, at Transfiguration Church in Williamsburg.

The couple went to mass every Sunday at St Mary’s on Maujer Street and were involved in church activities. Margaret was also the school’s secretary.

In 1971 they moved to Middle Village, Queens, and attended Our Lady of Hope Church.

Their daughters Maureen Engesser (Joseph) and Linda Abels (Larry) have both been very involved in the parish. It is a dedication to the church they passed onto their children and Margret’s oldest grandson found a vocation there.

Father Kevin Abels currently serves as pastor of Our Lady of Angels and St Andrews Church in Bay Ridge.

Her granddaughter, Katie Engesser, also serves the church through her executive producer role at Currents News, a nightly Catholic newscast reporting on the Diocese of Brooklyn and beyond.

These lives of service to the church were all inspired by Margaret, a lifelong reader of the Tablet and viewer of Currents News and NET TV.

Her grandson, Father Kevin, celebrated a mass of Christian Burial for Margaret at Our Lady of Hope on Tuesday, September 24th.

She was buried in All Faiths Cemetery, next to her husband John. She is survived by four grandchildren: Father Kevin, John (Maria), Thomas, and Katie, and two great-grandchildren: Marissa and Jordan.