Obituary of Margaret Kirchner

Margaret Rose (Gretel) Kirchner, 92, formerly of Lake Naomi and New Rochelle, NY, died Thursday, May 31, surrounded by her family, at Whitestone Healthcare Center in Stroudsburg, Pa. She was the wife of the late Werner W. Kirchner. Born in New York, she was the daughter of the late Herman and Anna (Varga) Swoboda. Her love of the water came from being raised on Glen Island where her father was Commodore of the Huguenot Yacht Club. Margaret graduated from Pelham Memorial High School in 1937 and set her sights on working in the Chrysler Building in New York City. Her first job in the city, at age 18, was working at Owens-Illinois as an executive secretary. Her dream came true 3 years later when she landed a job on the 51st floor of the Chrysler Building. It was at this time that she met the true love of her life, Werner, who recently hailed from Germany. While raising her family, Margaret attended the Diller-Quail School of Music in New York City and graduated with a degree in Musical Performance. It was at this time that she began her lifelong love affair of teaching piano, which lasted close to 70 years. "Mrs. K", as her students affectionately called her, took such pride in watching her young students grow and develop their own love of music. Her students loved her so much that many who already graduated often returned to surprise her at the yearly recitals she would give. Margaret and Werner built a vacation home in Lake Naomi where they came to as often as they could. Margaret truly loved the Poconos where she continued playing tennis into her 80's, played cards well into the night with friends and enjoyed sitting on the beach with her grandchildren. Margaret will be sorely missed by everyone that knew her. Her nature was kind , generous, sensitive, and caring , and always took time for others. The deep love she had for her family was mirrored by the deep love and respect they had for her. Margaret is survived by: a daughter, Mary Louise "Schatzie" Kavelines and her husband John of Tobyhanna, Pa, and son-in-law Jack Bingham of Orem, Utah. She is also survived by five grandchildren; William , Robert, Drew, Karen and Barbara, as well as ten great-grandchildren; Nathan, Michael, Jesse, Jackson, Rhiannon, Caroline, Shawna, Kayla, Gracelin and Ashley. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Barbara Bingham of Orem, Utah, and a brother, Fred Varga, of Mt.Vernon, N.Y. A viewing will take place Friday, June 8, from 6:00-8:00pm at the Bolock Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., 6148 Paradise Valley Road, Cresco. The Reverend Jon Hall will conduct a funeral service at 8pm. Burial of cremains will take place on Saturday June 9 at 2pm at the Pocono Lake Cemetery, Old Route 940, Pocono Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tobyhanna United Methodist Church, 65 Main Street Tobyhanna , PA 18466