NEW SCOTLAND — Margaret R. “Peggy” (née Carr) Fredrickson, a teacher who founded a nursery school and who liked sailing with her husband, died at the Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland, near her home in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. She was 80.

Mrs. Fredrickson was born in Binghamton on Feb. 1, 1938, to Andrew B. and Dorothy Olive (née Tarrant) Carr.

Mrs. Fredrickson was raised and educated in the hamlet of New Scotland, and was a congregant of the New Scotland Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Voorheesville’s high school in 1954.

After graduation, she attended the University at Albany, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Mrs. Fredrickson returned to college in 1990, and received a second bachelor’s degree, from Framingham State College in communication arts with a special emphasis in television production.

She married Paul Burton Fredrickson in 1959.

In 1962, the couple moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts to raise their family.  

Mrs. Fredrickson taught middle school math and science for several years, and later established and ran the Northedge Nursery School in Sudbury from 1966 to 1986. She also worked as the coordinator of local-access television for Sudbury’s Cablevision studio for many years.  

She was active in a variety of community organizations, including: The Town Cable Committee, the League of Women Voters, and the Town Strategic Planning Task Force. She had a variety of roles with the Sudbury Historical Society, including president and treasurer.

Mrs. Fredrickson was also certified in solar heating and installation technology, and worked as a conservation trainer at the People’s Energy Resource Cooperative in Framingham, Massachusetts.

From the time she moved to Sudbury, Mrs. Fredrickson was an active member of the St. John Lutheran Church there.

The Fredricksons also enjoyed sailing, and completed a United States Coast Guard navigation course together. An avid reader, she most enjoyed books about religion, politics, and history.

Mrs. Fredrickson’s other interests included researching the history of Viking exploration in Canada and Iceland, which included trips to Newfoundland, Norway, and Iceland.  She was also active in the Sons of Norway, Norumbega Lodge, of Boston for a number of years.  

****

Margaret R. Fredrickson is survived by her daughters: Kristen Bankuti and her husband, Stephen, of Sudbury, Massachusetts; Karen Umbrell and her husband, Stephen, of Maynard, Massachusetts; and Ellen Zweig and her husband, Geoffrey, of Scarsdale, New York.

She is also survived by her six grandchildren: Olivia and Molly Bankuti, Jeffrey and Sara Umbrell, and Maxwell and Vivian Zweig; by her younger sister Arlene Herzog and her husband, Jacob, of Slingerlands; and by many nieces and nephews.

Her husband, Paul Burton Fredrickson, died before her, as did her sister Patricia Longtin and her husband, Thomas, of Slingerlands.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday, March 1, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Fowler-Kennedy Funeral home, at 42 Concord St., in Maynard, Massachusetts. A funeral service will be held Friday, March 2, at 10 a.m., at St. John Lutheran Church, at 16 Great Rd., in Sudbury, Massachusetts, followed by a reception in Heritage Hall. Burial will be private.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, 16 Great Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776, or to the Sudbury Historical Society, 322 Concord Rd. #2, Sudbury, MA 01776.