Margaret Helen Tillman Booth, died peacefully on September 5, 2022 in Hanover, New Hampshire. Born in 1924 to Edna (Dekle) and Joseph Gerome Tillman, she grew up in Statesboro, Georgia with her three brothers, Joe Robert, Bill and Sam. Her father was a tobacco farmer and the county sheriff, and her childhood left her with a deep sense of the primacy of family, a love of good stories, sound practical intelligence, and an awareness of political and social issues.

Always curious about the world beyond Statesboro, as a young woman she headed off to the Wesleyan Conservatory in Macon to study piano. There she met and fell in love with a pilot-in-training and aspiring young poet, Philip Booth. The two married in 1946 and moved to Philip's home territory in the North. Although she lived the rest of her life there with him, her ties to her family in the deep south remained strong.

Margaret embraced her new life in New England with aplomb, learning to ski, sail, and eat salt cod. She joined the Unitarian church and embraced the civil rights movement, protesting against segregation and urban renewal. She took her children into Boston to hear Martin Luther King speak and advocated for the separation of church and state in their classrooms. Much later in her life she assumed a leadership role in the Maine Won't Discriminate movement, helping to amend the Maine Human Rights Act in 2005.

Margaret and Philip had three daughters – Margot, Carol, and Robin – who were raised on a diet of books galore, old hymns and civil rights songs, freedom to roam in the natural world and steadfast love. Philip once said Margaret was the family's "anchor to windward" and there was something about her love that was profoundly anchoring and easy to sense. She was a wonderful mother - attuned, wise and relaxed – and was a great, devoted presence in Philip's life in numerous ways.

Every summer was spent in Castine, where generations of Philip's family had lived since 1797, and where Philip and Margaret retired in 1990. Margaret loved Castine. She treasured her friendships there and was very active in town affairs. She launched the Castine Conservation Trust in 1978, a time when local land trusts in Maine were rare. She was the first president and a long-term board member of this successful non-profit which sought to purchase, protect and maintain Castine's unique natural and historic areas for the public's enjoyment. Ram Island was one of the first purchases, and Margaret's spirited fund-raising efforts for that project included lobster bakes, an art sale, and benefit performances by several eminent writers and actors. As an appointee to the town's historic conservation committee, she spearheaded a program to protect Castine's beautiful elm trees from Dutch elm disease, toiling many a morning on her hands and knees inoculating the trees. She fought tirelessly to protect the uniqueness and integrity of Castine and had a reputation as a moving force. Less known was her practice of keeping a watchful eye on several older residents and quietly helping them behind the scenes. When Philip became ill and the two needed to move away, the town selectmen presented Margaret with a certificate of appreciation for all she had done to contribute to the life of the town. It was one of her most prized possessions.

Margaret enjoyed her life immensely. She was always game, especially for a picnic or a sail. She also relished adventures that took her to other lands and managed find ways to travel in Asia, Russia, Africa and Europe during the course of her life. Her capacity for enjoyment, her natural grace and quiet wisdom will always be remembered by those who survive her: her daughters and their spouses (Margot Booth and Russell Pinkston, Carol Booth and Linda Fidnick and Robin Booth) seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind a large network of extended family in Vermont and Georgia as well as many dear family friends. We will all miss her deeply.

Contributions in Margaret's name may be sent to the Elm Tree Committee of the Town of Castine, PO Box 204, Castine Maine 04421.

A memorial service will be held in Castine later in 2023.