Margaret Spils
Aug 13, 1935 -
Aug 16, 2022
Margaret Myna Mannix Spils died on Aug. 16, 2022, in her Anchorage, Alaska, home, surrounded by her five children and granddaughter, Jana. She was 87.
The first of four siblings, Marge was born in Newburyport, Mass., on Aug. 13, 1935. She graduated from Regis College in Weston, Mass., with a degree in French and English. During her junior year she studied in Fribourg, Switzerland, where she learned to cross-country ski, traveling between mountain chalets and stopping for wine along the way.
After a short stint as a translator for the CIA, Marge became a French teacher at Beverly High School near her hometown. It was here that her life took a turn. In 1956, she was called to the Alaska "Territory" to teach English at Copper Valley High School in rural southcentral Alaska as a Lay Apostolate, a position that became the template for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Her fellow volunteers from the Lower 48 and the Native Alaskan students she taught would become lifelong friends. Copper Valley was also where she met her future husband, Richard "Dick" Spils.
On a return visit home from Alaska she fended off proposals from local suitors. It was Dick who succeeded in winning Marge's hand in marriage, on his second attempt, in 1960. Immediately after their wedding reception at the Crane Estate on the coast of Massachusetts, they hopped in her Vauxhall and drove back to Alaska, where they began a new life and family.
Marge and Dick settled in Anchorage, where she first worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She then helped start Engineered Equipment Company, a supplier of pipes, valves and flow meters to the Alaska oil industry. He was the engineer, she was the treasurer. They raised a family, had many outdoor adventures and built a close-knit group of friends in the city and state she loved dearly.
After Dick died in 1995, Marge stayed active in her community, joining a group of "Merry Widows," guiding tours for Elderhostel, volunteering at Holy Family Cathedral, ushering at the Anchorage Performing Arts Center and gathering for a coffee klatch at City Market every Saturday with local friends. Every winter, she spent a couple months in Maui at the condo she and Dick bought together in 1974. She loved hosting her children and their children, and walking to the beach every evening to watch the sunset.
In her final years, she enjoyed popping around Anchorage, attending local festivals and dining at her favorite restaurants - she much preferred eating to cooking. Up until the day before she entered the ER, Marge could be seen "getting her steps in" all around town - she clocked an impressive 4,000 steps on her final walk.
Margaret will join those who preceded her in death, including her husband, Richard Spils; brothers, Joseph and Robert Mannix; and parents, Timothy Joseph and Marie Zirilda "Hilda" Mannix.
Margaret is survived by her daughters, Deanna and Carol Spils; son, Conrad Spils his wife Kathryn and grandchildren Bennett, Jana and Meghan; son, Daniel Spils and his wife Brangien Davis; son, Greg Spils his wife Eleanor Montaperto and grandchildren Salvatore and Rose; sister, Deanna Ousler; nieces, Kristen Sanchez, Nicole Ousler and Heidi Ousler Lang; and nephew, George Ousler III.
The family would like to thank Providence Hospice for their help in bringing Marge home for her final days, and to Kathy Longacre, Mom's caregiver, who Mom referred to as "my good friend Kathy."
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Marge's honor to Catholic Social Services of Alaska, https://www.cssalaska.org/donate/; or Bean's Cafe soup kitchen, https://donate.beanscafe.org.
Marge's funeral will be held at Holy Family Cathedral on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, with viewing at 10 a.m., mass at 11 a.m., and reception to follow in the church basement.
