Margaret “Peg” Oliveira

Margaret “Peg” Oliveira

1939 – 2000

Peg Oliveira, 1980s. Courtesy of her children.

My mother, Peg Oliveira, was known for her compassionate spirit. She was always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need, no matter how small or large the need happened to be or how much or how little she had to share.

Mom truly walked the walk; she turned the garage into an apartment for my paternal grandparents, Maria and Antone Oliveira, when they could no longer live independently. Mom cared for them in that garage apartment for the remainder of their lives. She also did the same for her mother, Margaret Thatcher. When Gram suffered a stroke leaving her in need of total care, my mother, one of six siblings, moved my grandmother into our home. During that time, my father, Tony Oliveira, was diagnosed with lung cancer. My mother was caring for her mother and her husband at home at the same time. She did so without complaint and without hesitation. She did so with tireless love. She cared for my father at home until he died. She was at his side and allowed him to have a dignified death at home surrounded by his family.

My mother believed that people needed compassionate care especially those who were sick and dying. She firmly believed that people should be cared for in their homes whenever possible. She parlayed that spirit and passion into a business at a time when women-owned businesses were few and far between. Mom opened Mar-Com, a home care nursing agency. In the early days of Mar-Com she ran the business out of what had formerly been the garage apartment for my grandparents with an office staff of my father and me and my siblings. After a few years, and with the same care and nurturance that she provided to the people in her life, the business had grown to the point that she needed a full-time office staff and bigger space. Her success was the result of her dedicated compassion.

My mother set the bar high for me. I try to live my life as she did – caring for others without judgement or hesitation. I would like to think that I try to emulate her spirit on a a daily basis, but I know that she was an extraordinary person and I can only try to approach people and the world as she did.