Margaret Kelley Callahan

Margaret Callahan ObituaryVisit the Feeney Funeral Home - Ridgewood website to view the full obituary.Margaret Kelley CallahanMargaret Rose Kelley Callahan of Ridgewood, NJ, formerly of Waldwick, NJ; Wolfeboro, NH; Malden, MA; and Boston, MA, died on March 3, 2026, after a brief illness of a rare autoimmune disease. She was 84.Well-known and loved as Peggy, the eldest of 10 children was born on October 4, 1941, in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. She and her parents first lived with her grandparents from Ireland, before her father built their own house nearby on Bellamy Street.A graduate of Our Lady of the Presentation Academy in Newton, MA, and the Katharine Gibbs School in Boston, Peggy held a paralegal certificate from Bentley University in Waltham, MA.Sharp, elegant, and poised, Peggy loved working in business, estate, and tax law with people from around the world in Boston law firms. Every morning, in any weather, she would sprint in high heels down Bellamy Street and over the hill to Oak Square to catch the streetcar to her office downtown.At a summer party on Cape Cod with her life-long friends Mary Lenihan and Judy Mehegan, Peggy met the outgoing and gregarious Neil Robert Callahan. Unimpressed, Peggy pinned him as a "typical Boston College guy." But Neil, who was actually a UMASS/Amherst grad, was smitten and unswayed, and soon won her heart.They married on July 23, 1966, at Our Lady of Presentation Catholic Church in Brighton, where they both took everyone's breath away looking like movie stars."He was the love of my life," Peggy said recently.Peggy had three children and revolved her life around them. While raising her young family, she also managed both their home in Malden, MA, and summer cottage in Milton, NH.She deeply believed in public service and social justice, consulting with and advising her husband throughout his political career and labor leadership. She was a member of the Malden, MA, League of Women Voters and served as administrative assistant to the Malden Board of Appeals.The epitome of grace, class, and strength, Peggy was tough and tenacious and saw straight through artifice. She could size you up in a second, and you wouldn't even know it.Peggy could do anything. She'd just as easily glide up the red-carpeted stairs at the Metropolitan Opera, her eyes, earrings, and lipstick shining under the star-shaped chandeliers, as rip out of the ground on her hands and knees an overgrown lavender bush and firmly plant her famously thriving zinnias.Most of all, Peggy knew how to live life. Loyal to her Boston family, she also embraced adventure for herself, her husband, children, and grandchildren. She cherished both large, exciting times and quiet, reflective moments. Her brilliant humor and deadpan observations would take you by surprise, and you could feel the room levitate with the hilarity of her insight and quiet delivery.She enjoyed with Neil almost 20 years of a whole new life in retirement in Wolfeboro, NH. Peggy was a member of the Kingswood Golf Club and the Wolfeboro Garden and Newcomers clubs.A true city person, Peggy found she also flourished in nature. After working in the yard together, she and Neil luxuriated under their red maple tree on Old Mill Drive listening to the wind through the tall pines, watching the giant mountain clouds float by, and planning their next escapade."As soon as she crossed the state line, she would take a deep breath, exhale, and say, 'There's nothing like the New Hampshire air,'" said her daughter Maura.A lifelong Red Sox fan, Peggy was over the moon adoring her six New York City-born grandchildren and was able to talk about the Yankees with them. For the past decade, she relished living near them in New Jersey and being part of their everyday lives.In her late 70s, Peggy cared for Neil after he lost his ability to walk, hoisting both him and his wheelchair in and out of their blue Toyota Highlander so they could still go everywhere together.She fiercely loved every member of her family and was enormously proud of everyone. She loved talking with and hearing about her siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, and their children. She knew details of their lives and cared about them deeply.The daughter of the late Albert Francis Kelley and Agnes Mary Athy Kelley, Peggy is survived by her children and grandchildren: Joanne Callahan and her husband Kennedy Gorgey of Ridgewood, NJ, and their children Leila and Daniel; Neil Callahan and his wife Maria Brown Callahan of Tenafly, NJ, and their children Catherine, Grace, Olivia, and Christina; and Maura Callahan of Amesbury, MA, and her partner Erica Desfosses of Londonderry, NH.She's also survived by her sisters and brothers Virginia Kelley Cronin of Swampscott, MA; Agnes Kelley Manning of Amesbury, MA; Dr. Maryellen Kelley of Eastham, MA; Patricia Kelley Conway and her husband Dr. Joseph Conway of Osterville, MA; Kathryn Kelley Brasco and her husband Michael Brasco of Weston, MA; Albert T. Kelley and his wife Carolyn Howard of Lexington, KY; and Thomas M. Kelley and his wife Judith Griffin Kelley of Plymouth, MA; her sisters-in-law Marion Callahan Harney of Newport Beach, CA: and Clare Bennett Callahan of Marblehead, MA; and many nieces and nephews and extended family.She was predeceased by her husband Neil; infant brothers Francis and Joseph; brothers-in-law Edward C. Cronin, Jr., Dr. Bennet Harrison, James Manning, Daniel Edward Callahan, Jr., and Jack Harney; and nephew Daniel Edward Callahan III.Visitors are welcome at the Feeney Funeral Home, 232 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, on Friday, March 13, from 3 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 14, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., and the Funeral Mass, Saturday, March 14, at 11:15 a.m. at Church of the Presentation, 271 West Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Graveside memorial service and burial will take place in June at Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Lynn, MA.Peggy was grateful for the kindness, care, and support she and Neil received from many officers of the Waldwick, NJ, Police Department, who came to their home when Neil needed assistance moving. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to the Allendale/Waldwick Police Benevolent Association.Read The Full Obituary