Margaret Carr Obituary

Margaret Wiley Carr (Mrs. Robert A. Carr) died on November 12, 2016 four days after celebrating her 103rd birthday. A third generation Chicagoan, Peggy was born and raised in the Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's south side. Her father, Stanley Morris Wiley, was a grain trader on the Chicago Board of Trade, and her mother Margaret Benedict Wiley, was a homemaker who also managed farmland in Bureau County, Illinois, that had been in her family since the 1850's. Peggy graduated from University High School (now the University of Chicago Lab School) and Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, NY (where she said she majored in house parties and dancing). She was married for 55 years to Robert A. Carr until his death in 1994. He was President of the Dearborn Chemical Company, a family company that was acquired by W.R. Grace and is now part of GE. Peggy was an active volunteer for many charitable organizations, including, the Chicago Child Care Society, the Founder's Board of Children's Memorial Hospital (now Lurie Children's Hospital), the Women's Board of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Women's Board of the Field Museum, the Guild of the Chicago History Museum, the Antiquarians and Old Masters Society of the Art Institute, the Women's Board of the University of Chicago, and an original director of Planned Parenthood of Chicago (now Planned Parenthood of Illinois). She is survived by her son, Thomas W. Carr, and his children, Benedict B. Carr and Lucy A. Carr, her son Walter S. ("Terry") Carr, and his wife, Mary Baine Carr. Contributions in Peggy's memory may be made to the Chicago Child Care Society, 5467 S. University Ave., Chicago IL 60615 or the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe IL 60022. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held on Friday, December 16 at 4:00 pm at St. Chrysostom's Episcopal Church, 1424 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, with a reception following the service.