Obituary of Margaret Elizabeth Crites

Margaret Elizabeth Metcalfe Crites passed away after a rich full life on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, at the Royal Oaks Inn in Thousand Oaks. Her daughter, Rebecca was by her side. She was born March 27th, 1925 in Vina del Mar, Chile. Her father, Harold Metcalfe, was a Chilean businessman. Her mother, Agnes Lamb Metcalfe, taught music. Margaret served in the British ATS in London near the end of WWII. When the war ended, Margaret served two years with a British regiment in Cairo, Egypt. Following her service in Egypt she returned to Chile.

In 1951 she met a young American mining engineer, Joe Crites, who was working at a Chilean copper mine. They married in Santiago, Chile on January 19, 1952. Later that year they moved to Ely, Nevada. In 1954 they moved to Ishpeming, Michigan, where they settled and raised their family. As the children grew older and became independent, Margaret enrolled at Northern Michigan University to study. She received her Bachelor's degree in 1980 in the double major of Spanish and English, both of which she considered her native languages.

Joe passed away unexpectedly in 1991. Margaret moved to Thousand Oaks, California in 1993, where she purchased a townhome which she quickly and elegantly made her new home. Several years after settling in she met Bob Budell, a widower from Westlake Village. They formed a steady relationship, and enjoyed travelling and entertaining together.

In 2011 , Margaret moved to The Samarkand, an independent living facility in Santa Barbara. Bob passed away in 2013. Margaret spoke often of the new people she met at the Samarkand, and the interesting backgrounds they each had. In 2022 Margaret moved to the Royal Oaks Inn in Thousand Oaks, where she could be closer to her family.

Margaret is preceded in death by her husband Joe and her son, John, who passed away in 2006. Margaret is survived by three children: Joe (Eve Neuefeind) of Bremen, Germany, Tom (Mary Ann Webster) of Newport Richey, Florida and Rebecca (Kenrick Koo) of Newbury Park, California, 5 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, March 16th, 2024 at The Church of the Epiphany, 5450 Churchwood Dr, Oak Park, CA 91377, at 11:00 AM. Margaret's ashes will be interred next to those of her husband Joe. and of their son John, at the family cemetery in Cane Creek, Missouri.