Margaret Vaughan Siebel died suddenly on Jan. 1 of aortic dissection with her loving husband Stuart Brown by her side. They had recently moved to New Mexico.

Margaret, born July 15, 1957, grew up on Chappaquiddick and in India, where her stepfather Clarence Andrade was a consultant with the Ford Foundation for 12 years. Her mother, Winifred Vaughan Andrade, was the daughter of a prominent surgeon, John Colin Vaughan, and granddaughter of a sea captain who raised his family aboard his square-rigger ship, Lizzie Ross. Her father, Fritz Siebel, illustrated children’s books, most notably Amelia Bedelia and A Fly Went By.

She explored India to her heart’s content, returning to a traditional American home at the end of each day. She attended Loreto House in Kolkata and the American Embassy School in New Delhi, graduating from St. Stephens’ High School in Austin, Tex.

She left the University of Michigan to attend to her parents’ failing health in Austin, and be near her cousin Elspeth Rostow and husband Walt. She graduated from the University of Texas, obtained her juris doctor from Lewis and Clark in Portland, Ore., then moved to Washington, D.C. where she consulted on Native American health programs, and at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Since 1987, Margaret and Stuart had made their home in Washington, D.C. In August, they moved near Santa Fe where Margaret celebrated the beauty of New Mexico.

Her true passion was art. Coming from a family of artists, she spent Chappaquiddick summers painting landscapes. Known for elaborate art projects, she introduced her children’s schoolmates to stained glass, tie-dye and papier mâché. Her fanciful storefront installations in D.C. included mobiles of butterflies, birds, airplanes and lanterns.

She will be remembered as an artist, nature lover and avid gardener. She was a joyous, generous, loving soul. She had dreams of dedicating her next decades to sharing her creative talents with her new neighbors in San Ildefonso, Los Alamos and Santa Fe.

In addition to ger husband she is survived by her daughter Emily, of Richmond, Va.; son Henry of Cincinnati; brother Dr. John Siebel of Ross, Calif.; sisters Katherine Kunhiraman of Berkeley, Calif. and Chennai, India, Heddi Siebel of Cambridge and Barbara Thomas of East Hampton, N.Y.

A D.C. memorial is planned for Feb. 2.

The family requests donations be made to Pueblo de San Ildefonso c/o Glenda Fred-Weahkee, Director of Education, 02 O Tunyo Po, Santa Fe, NM 87506, (or Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood, Care or Trustees of the Reservations). Arrangements are under the care of DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Española Valley, devargasfuneral.com.