Margaret (Peg) E. Ravena (VanGarderen)

COLONIE - Margaret (Peg) Hall VanGarderen Ravena went to be with her Lord and Savior on July 12, 2019.

Margaret Ellen Hall was born September 22, 1940 to Elizabeth and Theron Hall.  She was sister to Mary, Theron (Ted), Jean, Norman and Ann Shirley. 

She is predeceased by her parents, Theron and Elizabeth Hall, sisters: Jean and Ann Shirley; brother, Theron(Ted) Hall; also her beloved first husband, Jack VanGarderen; a sister-in-law Marie Griffin, two brothers-in-law Jim Griffin and Vincent Place and three nieces: Carrie Jane Hall, MaryBeth Ryan, Katie Place as well as, in-laws; John and Catherine VanGarderen Sr. and Margaret and Patrick Ravena Sr.    

She leaves behind her loving husband, Patrick F, Ravena; sons John, Scott (Michelle), Eric (Christine), Mark (Hang Nguyen) VanGarderen, Brian (Kim) Ravena, and daughter Allison (Thomas) Norris.  She was “Gramdma” to 17 grandchildren; JohnAnthony, Catherine, Angelina Bellini, Megan, Daniel, Peter (Emily), Kayla, Kara, Gena, Jack VanGarderen, Emilie Ravena, Jason, Gloria, Amanda, Jessica, Amber and Joshua Norris. She is also survived by her sister Mary Place and a brother Norman (Dana) Hall; sisters and brothers-in-laws; Beverly (Vincent) DiSclafani, Peter (Sandy) and George VanGarderen as well as the Clark Family and many nieces and nephews.

During her childhood the family moved from North Creek to Chestertown then Corinth and finally to Glens Falls.  She attended and graduated from Saint Marys’ High School (VP of her Sr. Class) and attended Adirondack Community College. After high school she worked for Glens Falls National Bank.

While in high school she met and dated John VanGarderen.  That relationship continued after graduation and his time away at college, after graduation from college they married.

In the next few years they started a family having four sons, John, Scott, Eric and Mark. On Valentine’s Day 1971, Jack was killed accidently at work. She became a widow with four young children.

 She was a leader in the local Le Lache League, helping young mothers that were breast feeding their children.  Five years after the death of her first husband, she married Pat, a widower with two children.   She became an amazing stay-at-home Mom of six children.  John was 13, Scott 11, Eric 9, Mark 7, Brian 7 and Allison 3.  As the years went by, when the youngest entered high school, Peg went to work for Father Peyton’s Ministry. “The family that prays together, stays together.”  When the ministry moved from Albany, she went to work for the United Methodist Church in Albany.

 She loved watching her children grow, marry and start families of their own. And oh the patience she had with the grandchildren, she loved to rock them when they were small, play games with them as they grew, say the swing poem and always making that homemade play dough, just like grandma Hall always did.

  She cared for her mother and mother and father -in-law, at her home when they became ill, till the day of their deaths.  Peg saw good in everyone and was always ready to share her faith with everyone she met. During her life Peg was involved in many church ministries from visiting prisoners at the Albany County Jail, attending bible study small groups, co-forming a couple’s group, co-leading a small group and participating in conducting baptism preparation classes, to name a few.

Peg’s life was her ministry. She was always ready to pray with someone be it in the grocery store, in the mall or any place other place. She saw the best in everyone.  She always wanted to tell them about God.  She constantly read and studied the Bible and was always ready to share her faith to anyone that would listen.   She lived John 13:34 “Love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you.”

For the last seven years or so Peg has bore her declining health with grace as she was unable to do certain things she took it all in stride, no frustration or anger.  For the last couple years, she has been unable to talk much but those beautiful blue eyes said it all!

Peg you will be missed, gone but never forgotten.

We thank Doctor Stephen Fishel and the staff at Saratoga Family Medicine for their longtime kind and compassionate care of Peg.

Donations can be made to Community Hospice of Albany, 310 S. Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208  or Birthright of Schenectady, 12 Jay Street, Schenectady, NY 12305 .

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.