Margaret (Maggie) Sibert died at her home in Vineyard Haven on Thursday, Jan. 10, at age 99.

Maggie, the daughter of Clarence Franklin Larsen and Alice Marian Johnson, was born in Seattle in 1919. Her father—the son of Danish immigrants—was the president of the Charles H. Lilly Company of Seattle.

Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Maggie loved the outdoors and was an enthusiastic hiker and camper. She graduated from the University of Washington where she was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. During World War II she worked for Boeing and after the war ended she went to New York city and worked as a bookkeeper. There she met Edwin Luther Sibert, Jr. and they were married in Grace Church in Vineyard Haven in June 1953.

Maggie and Ed moved to Irvington, N.Y. where they raised their family. Maggie was an avid curler and horticulturist. She was president of the Garden Club of Irvington and for many years she was a horticultural judge for the Garden Club of America.

Maggie and Ed spent their summers in their beach house at Lambert’s Cove and after Ed retired they moved to the historic district in Vineyard Haven. She and Ed were passionate birdwatchers, traveling the world in search of new finds as well as prowling the Island with their telescope and binoculars. Maggie continued engaging in her passion for plants, working in her beloved garden on William street where she grew 50 different species of epimediums. She and her long-time friend

and colleague Polly Hill published their work on North Tisbury azaleas in The Azalean. Maggie was a long-time member of the board of the Polly Hill Arboretum and she served as a commissioner of the William Street Historic District.

Maggie is survived by a brother and sister; her children Anne, Ned and Judy; two son in laws and a daughter in law; and five grandchildren. Her husband and three sisters predeceased her.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Feb. 23 at Grace Church.