Saunders, Margaret Erin (O'Rourke), 98, of Roslindale/ West Roxbury and Wareham passed away at the Royal Megansett Nursing Home in North Falmouth on August 19th.  Margaret was born and raised in Tewksbury, MA, the fourth child of James and Bridget (Jones) O'Rourke.

After graduation from Tewksbury High School, Margaret enrolled in the Cambridge City Hospital School of Nursing.  After completing her education there, she joined the US Army Nurses Corps as a Lieutenant.  While serving in the Army, she met and married Lt. Daniel J Saunders of Roslindale.  As her husband continued his Army career, she moved with him to Germany and California, expanding their family along the way, before returning to Roslindale to raise their five children. As their children grew, Margaret returned to her nursing career at the Faulkner Hospital, moving to Mass Memorial Hospital which became University Hospital, now part of Boston Medical Center.  She was the Nursing Supervisor of the Emergency Room at University Hospital for many years before her retirement.  One time as she headed to her car after work, she saw a priest from the Immaculate Conception Church on the ground having a heart attack and revived him with CPR before running back to the hospital for a resuscitation team. This story was recounted in the local paper at the time. Before and after retirement, Margaret loved to travel especially to her parents' homes in Ireland where she met her relatives in County Leitrim and County Clare and saw her parents' childhood homes.  She also enjoyed travelling through Italy, Poland and Germany where she saw the place she had lived with her husband years ago. Along for these trips and many others trips was her very dear friend, Helen Kisiel, who brought much joy and laughter to her life.   When not traveling, Margaret summered in Wareham where she and her husband had a summer home since the early 60s.

In recent years, she resided at the Sophia Snow Residences in West Roxbury, where she continued to meet new people and make dear friends who made her last years very enjoyable.  Margaret was very grateful for these wonderful friends. With her bright smile, sparkle in her blue eyes, or a sly wink and her wit, she brought warmth and a quiet joie de vivre to any gathering.

Margaret leaves her son, James K Saunders and his wife Lynne of Bellevue, WA, her daughter Margaret Szuplat and her husband Stach of East Falmouth and her son, Terence P Saunders of Wareham and his partner Eva Abbruzzese and her son-in-law, Arthur Marin of Holden. She is also survived by her nieces, Eleanor Beattie, Bridget Hubbard and Siubhan O'Rourke, 8 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Margaret is predeceased by her husband Daniel J Saunders and her son Daniel J Saunders, her daughter Mary Ann Saunders Marin, her sister Mary Beattie, and her brothers, Terence and James O'Rourke.

The family would like to thank the BID-Needham Doctors Mary Manning and Meghan York for their wonderful care and attention to their mother these many years. Donations in Margaret's memory may be sent to the Visiting Nurses Assoc of Boston, at VNA Care Fund Development Office, 199 Rosewood Dr, Suite 180, Danvers, MA  01923 or a charity of your choice.

Funeral from the Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home, 1803 Centre St. West Roxbury on Thursday August 25, at 9:00 am. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the Holy Name Church at 10:00 am. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Visiting hours in the funeral home on Wednesday from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. Interment MA National Cemetery, Bourne at 1:30 pm .

Margaret's Funeral Mass can be viewed via livestream by clicking the link below.