Margaret Frances Murdock

May 23, 1941 - May 31, 2020

Margaret Frances Murdock was born in Joplin, Missouri on May 23, 1941. She was named after her two grandmothers, Margaret Murphy Murdock and Frances Roberts Simon. Margaret's parents, Patrick Murdock and Betty Simon, both grew up in Galena Kansas and were students at Kansas State Teachers' College at the time of their marriage.

While Patrick and Betty continued their academic studies, Margaret's two younger siblings, John and Rose Anna were born. A profound commitment to higher education motivated Margaret's parents throughout her childhood, leading them to various colleges and universities, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, Patrick earned his Ph.D. in History at Washington State University in Pullman, where Betty also completed her Masters' Degree in Speech and later went on to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri.

Before Margaret entered high school, the family lived in Lewiston, Idaho, Pullman, Washington and Monmouth, Oregon. In 1956, the family found their way to California, first Coalinga and then Milpitas, where Patrick taught history at San Jose City College and Betty taught in the Milpitas Unified School District and later retrained as a speech pathologist.

The family's strong emphasis on education influenced Margaret throughout her life. Her devotion to reading began well before kindergarten, and she read several books a week from childhood until her final illness. Her reading interests were widely varied, from novels to world literature to encyclopedias, and her favorite places were libraries. She also enjoyed re-reading, including the complete works of Shakespeare. When John or Rose wanted to know the answer to any question, all they had to do was ask their big sister, and she always knew the answer. After teaching many to read, Margaret served as Director and Coordinator of the Adult Literacy Program.

Academically, Margaret was brilliant. She graduated from Coalinga High School in 1959 as the straight-A valedictorian and earned her BA in Spanish Summa Cum Laude from San Jose State University in three years. She learned Spanish fluently while still in high school and in 1990 completed her Masters' Degree in Spanish Translation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Margaret also studied Serbo-Croatian and Italian as well as computer programming.

In 1961, Margaret married Rudy Pedulla, a student at San Jose State whose parents lived in Milpitas. Rudy's part-time job was delivering mail for the U.S. Post Office, and the Murdock home was on his route. After his graduation, Rudy was offered a job teaching history at Watsonville High School where he remained from 1964 to 1999 and eventually became chair of the Social Studies Department and an active leader in the American Federation of Teachers. Margaret and Rudy's two children, Peter and Kathleen grew up in Watsonville, where Peter still lives with his wife Tiffany. Peter's two daughters Amanda and Molly also live in Watsonville, and Margaret enjoyed doting on her granddaughters over the years, and of course reading to them.

Margaret and Rudy also became great-grandparents when Amanda and her husband, Jesse Gullings, brought their son Finnigan into the world. In their nearly sixty years as a family, the Pedullas remained close and connected, sharing time together at their home in Watsonville, where Rudy pursued his interest in home wine making and Margaret learned to play the bagpipes and enjoyed participating in the Scottish games. Both Margaret and Rudy liked to cook, and their friends and family members were always welcome to celebrate a good home cooked meal in the Pedulla dining room. And thanks to her daughter Kathleen's baking blog, "Cakes and Tea," at: myteaplanner.com, Margaret's Irish Soda Bread is legendary.

Seven years ago, Margaret was diagnosed with dementia, caused by Alzheimer's Disease, and received excellent home care by the Visiting Angels and Heartland Hospice Care throughout her illness. She was the oldest living member of the Murdock family in America, the descendants of E.J. Murdock and Maggie Murphy Murdock. Margaret's husband, children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews love her very much and will miss her sweet, calm, quiet spirit as well as her fierce passion for learning.

The family intends to have a Celebration of Margaret's Life when circumstances permit.

Friends and family members can contact the Pedulla family at

100 Santa Clara Street, Watsonville, California, 95076, (831) 722-2253 or

Rpedulla1@hotmail.com

Margaret's favorite charity was:

Monarch Services (Servicios Monarca)

Lives Free from Violence and Abuse

24-hour Bi-Lingual Crisis Line

(888) 900-4232

Published in The Pajaronian · June 4, 2020