Los Angeles
County
Biographies
MARGARET CULBERTSON McGILL
A
widow with three sons at the age of thirty-three, Margaret Culbertson McGill
came to Alhambra a year later and made a new life for herself and her children.
She taught at Fremont School for
twenty-eight years, from its opening in 1922 until her retirement in 1950. Now past seventy, Mrs. McGill is still very
active and charming and can, indeed, seldom be found at home. She feels that in life one’s attitude towards
a situation makes all the difference.
The
daughter of J. A. and Loretta Jane (Hunter) Culbertson, both natives of
Pennsylvania, Mrs. McGill was born in Glidden, Iowa, on December 17, 1887. Her father was a farmer and a grain elevator
owner. Her sister has passed away; her
brother, a retired doctor, practiced in Billings, Montana, presently resides in
Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Mrs.
McGill received her elementary and high school education in Glidden. She attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, for two years, and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1909 with
a Bachelor of Philosophy degree.
For
two years prior to her marriage, she taught home economics in Hinsdale,
Illinois. On September 28, 1911, she was
married to Harry A. McGill, an instructor at the University of Michigan. Mr. McGill passed away in Missouri in
1920. One year later, Mrs. McGill joined
her mother, who had moved to Alhambra.
One
of the first four teachers at Fremont School, Mrs. McGill taught third grade
during most of her years there. She was
president of the Alhambra Teachers’ Club in 1924 and 1925. She is now a member of the local, state and
National Retired Teachers’ Associations.
She is also a member of the Pasadena Interracial Club. A former member of the American Association
of University Women, Mrs. McGill was also president of the Alhambra Business
and Professional Women’s Club in 1950-51.
An
active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Alhambra, Mrs. McGill served
two terms on the board of deacons and one term on the board of elders. She was president of the church’s Women’s
Association for two years, and during that time attended the national meetings
of Presbyterian women at Purdue University.
She is one of the charter members of the women’s auxiliary of La Casa de
San Gabriel, and is now completing her second term as president. For two years, 1956 and 1957, Mrs. McGill
served as president of the Alhambra-San Gabriel Area Council of United Church Women. She is presently a member of the administrative
board of The United Church Women of Pasadena.
Mrs.
McGill’s eldest son, George Culbertson McGill, is a graduate of Alhambra High
School and the University of California; he served in the United States
Army. His wife is the former Laura Belle
Scott of Pasadena. They have two
children: Donna attends Washington State
College, and Marcy attends Glendora High School. Another son, Robert H. McGill, also attended
Alhambra High School and was in the Merchant Marines. A commercial fisherman, he lives in Alaska;
he is also an artist. The youngest son,
John Culbertson McGill, graduated from Alhambra High School and served in the
United States Navy Air Corps. He and his
brother, George, are in partnership with Jack McKinney, owning two Mayflower
Markets, one in Glendora and one in Monrovia.
Mr. McKinney was a classmate of John’s at Granada Elementary School and
Alhambra High School. John McGill, who
held of the rank of Lieutenant while in the Navy Air Corps, is a graduate of
Los Angeles Junior College. He and his
wife, the former Betty Wilson of Mountain View, California, have four
children: Susan, who attends the academy
at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina; Linda, who attends
junior high school in Arcadia; and Steven and Paul, who attend San Gabriel
Christian School.
Mrs.
McGill likes to travel, and went to Europe in 1958, the first season such a
trip was planned by the National Retired Teachers’ Association.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 549-551, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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