Margot Vogel Isenberg

Margot was born to Richard and Helen (Smith) Vogel in Pittsburgh, Pa. She was welcomed into the world by her brothers Lee and Ronnie, and sisters Helene (Bebe) and Mary. And a few years later, she got to be a big sister as well, to brothers Elton and Frank.

Margot attended St. Justin’s Catholic School and began working at Gulf Oil in Pittsburgh in 1953. While working at Gulf, she met a handsome mailroom clerk and Air Force reservist, Norman E. Isenberg. They were married on Sept. 4, 1954.

Margot and Norm left Pittsburgh and moved to the Philadelphia area in 1956, where they raised 3 children as Norm climbed the ranks at the Gulf Oil refinery. Margot made friends wherever she went. She was a Brownie leader for many years and spent most of her life in Philadelphia taking care of her children. They moved to Newark, Del., in 1970, where she went to work for Avon at their distribution center. While there she started her travels, going skiing with friends and even working at a Christmas tree lot one year when Norman had to have his gallbladder removed and Margot had to step into the venture HE was supposed to be in charge of! In 1976 they moved to Malvern, Pa., into her favorite house of so many, and she began work for Synthes Co., a job she loved and always spoke of fondly. Always making friends and redecorating her home, she made the most of her time in Malvern.

In 1981, Norman, was transferred by Gulf and moved with Margot and their now- teenaged youngest daughter Jeanne to Houston, Texas. In 1983, daughter Diane and her husband and granddaughter joined them, and eventually son Keith and his wife and grandson came as well. More grandchildren followed, six in total, then great grandchildren, and she became a guiding and loving touchstone in all their lives.

When Norm retired, with all the children out on their own, the duo made the most of their leisure time, traveling to all 50 states as well as overseas. In 2005 she and her sister, Bebe, traveled together to Japan to visit her granddaughter Katherine, who was working there. It was a lifelong dream for her to visit there, and she treasured the memories from that trip.

She leaves behind her three children - Diane (Jerald) Garcia, Keith (Lorna) Isenberg and Jeanne (Ross) Weiland, as well as six grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and her beloved siblings, Bebe and Mary and brother Elton (Mary).

Margot loved traveling ANYWHERE, and she especially loved traveling with her family. If she were traveling alone, she made friends wherever she went and would regale her family with stories from people on planes, tours, cruises, etc. People were drawn to her loving personality, and she collected life stories from other travelers like some people collect mementos. Margot was a member of many church and senior groups in Houston and stayed active in them until Covid hit. When she moved to Houston, she worked at Northwest Assistance Ministries Thrift Shop and loved resale shopping anywhere. She would bring home the most random things from her shopping and made the best Christmas stockings with the stuff she collected throughout the year. Margot loved casinos, card games, “The Chosen” and Frank Sinatra. She was the most “Young at Heart” grandma (Gma)/great grandma (GGma) ever known, and to the end, she adored playing Legos or dolls or any game her grandkids and then great grandkids could think up. She made it a point to call every child, grandchild, and great grandchild every year on their birthday and sing “Happy Birthday” and we will miss that most of all.

Special thanks to Nadine, her wonderful caregiver; to Penny Whited with St. Edith Stein Catholic Church, whose weekly visits were so much appreciated; and to Three Oaks Hospice, especially her nurse, Olu, who took such loving care of her and her family.

Margot’s family held a Celebration of Life with her before she passed. They shared stories, written and recorded, and photographs and told her how much her life had mattered. She is now in the presence of her heavenly Father, the Virgin Mary and all the Saints whom she leaned on throughout her life. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to remember Margot is encouraged to consider a donation to Three Oaks Hospice, which took amazing care of her in the last eight months of her life. threeoakshospice.com