Obituary of Margaret Ellen Choate

Margaret Ellen Choate Margaret Ellen (Hinton) Choate died Wednesday, April 5, 2017 in Horsham, Pa. She was 69. Margaret was born in Philadelphia to Elsie and William Hinton. She grew up in Southampton and graduated from William Tennent High School. Margaret worked in banking for 25 years for First Pennsylvania/CoreStates Bank, retiring in 1994 from the Horsham branch as Manager and Assistant Vice President. Margaret had a love of music, especially organ music by Virgil Fox. Margaret and Peter Choate found happiness together in 1977 and would have been married 40 years this November. After retiring from banking, she and her husband, Peter, purchased the Village Bookmark store near the Horsham bank. Together they became business owners, local historians and preservationists. Margaret was always active in preservation and restoration work. Never afraid to pick up a hammer, saw or paint brush, she was a "hands on" restoration worker. Peter, her loving husband, was always supportive and by her side in her endeavors. Margaret had a second career in historic preservation. She founded the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association in 1997 and helped form the Horsham Historic Advisory Committee for Horsham Township. She and her husband retired in 2002 to volunteer full time for the historic association. She restored their 1742 farmette in Horsham and later they became the full time restoration caretakers of the Penrose-Strawbridge property buildings in the Horsham Township park system, next to Graeme Park. During this time, she graduated as a dean's list student from Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa., where she received a Certificate in Historic Preservation. Margaret is survived by her devoted husband, Peter J. Choate; her son, Peter L. Robotham, daughter-in-law, Julie Meyers Robotham, and grandsons, Parker and Jace, of Sandy, Utah; her step-daughter, Lisa Ropski, son-in-law, Stan, and grandchildren, Casie and Kyle of Ambler; her sisters, Elsie Boyd of Southampton and Elizabeth and Horace "Chip" Ott of Doylestown, plus many nieces and nephews. A memorial service to celebrate Margaret's life will be held Thursday, April 20th at Graeme Park in the tented pavilion. Friends will be received from 11 a.m. until a brief service at noon followed by a luncheon. All are invited. Remembrance gifts may be sent to the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association, 900 Governor Rd., Horsham, PA 19044 to help them continue the work that she started. Louis Swift Plunkett Funeral Home, Hatboro