Obituary

Margaret “Maggie” Janet Foreman, of Johnstown, PA passed away on Thursday, July 17 at The Villa Crest. She was born on September 16, 1944, in Bangor, Pennsylvania to John and Bertha (Hower) Cargill.  Maggie spent her childhood in the rural region of Bangor until 1957 when the family (including older sister Jane and younger brother John) moved to North Plainfield, New Jersey.  There, Maggie graduated from high school in 1962.  She enrolled in the Philadelphia College of Bible a year later in 1963.

In college, Maggie met Peter Alden Foreman, the man who would guide and support her throughout her life from then on.  They married in 1966, and shortly afterward Peter was accepted into Officer Candidate School for the US Army.  The first of three sons, Brendan Jonathan, arrived in 1968 while the couple was stationed in West Berlin, West Germany.  Soon afterwards, Peter was deployed to Vietnam where he spent two tours of duty.

The second son, Bryan Jeremy, came in 1972 when Maggie and Peter were in Fort Benning, Georgia.  During this year, Maggie finished her college work and graduated with a Bachelor in Education.  This would be the first of many higher education degrees she would earn.  Afterward, Peter took up ministry, entering seminary at Bethel College in St Paul, Minnesota in 1974.  Their third and last son, Bradley Jason, was born in 1976.

The Foreman family continued to move throughout the next few decades as both Peter and Maggie worked to find what opportunities awaited them over the next horizon.  During every stage of their lives, Maggie found both simple and profound ways to support the family, to improve her education, and to contribute meaningfully to the communities she lived in.

During the seminary years in Saint Paul, she worked as a phone operator at a nearby hospital.  Later, in the late 1970s, when Peter started as a pastor in a church in Worcester, Massachusetts, she helped organize the Sunday School of the church and worked as an attendant in a nursing home down the street from their house.  In the early 1980’s, when Peter was attending Princeton Theological School, Maggie started up a local daycare.

In 1984, Maggie graduated with a Masters in Education from Eastern Michigan University.  She would put this education to good use in the next few decades, teaching a range of children at various educational institutions:  the Friends School in Detroit and Novi Christian Academy in  the late 1980’s, the Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan in the late 80s and early 90s, and the New Covenant School in Lansing, Michigan in the 1990s.

It was in the late 1990s when Peter was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania that the next pivot point occurred for Maggie.  She realized that her calling was to be a pastor herself.  Peter and Maggie both switched denominations to the United Methodist Church, and she began seminary school at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1997.  She graduated with her Masters in Divinity in 2000, her Master of Sacred Theology in 2001, and became a United Methodist pastor the same year.  Her first charge was in Fayette County, ministering to Smithfield and Fairchance UMCs, while Peter pastored at Confluence, Mt. Zion, and Casselman UMCs. In 2005, she was made pastor of Elton Zion UMC Church near Johnstown. During this time she earned a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and was also made a Full Elder in the United Methodist Church.  Unfortunately, in 2008, Peter Foreman died from ALS.  A year later, Maggie’s granddaughter and eldest son’s daughter, Ruth Helen, was born.

In 2010, Maggie fulfilled a long-time personal goal of hers in the obtainment of her Doctorate of Ministry. She kept the Lord’s work going until 2014, when she retired and moved to Ferndale, Michigan.  She spent her retirement tending to her beloved dogs and cats, keeping her garden, and volunteering at the local cat shelter.  When she needed a more supervised living arrangement, she went back to Johnstown, where she was well-cared for and comfortable at Horizons Personal Care Home at The Villa Crest.

Maggie was known for her gentle spirit and sharp intellect. She especially enjoyed reading, teaching lay classes, and watching British TV series. She was loved by many for her willingness to listen and, if asked, to offer wise counsel. She lived out her love of Christ by loving others.

Maggie was preceded in death by her husband, Peter Foreman, her parents, and an infant brother, Martin Cargill.

Maggie is survived by her three sons, Brendan (Rachel) of Shaker Heights, OH, Bryan (Erika) of Ferndale, MI, and Bradley (Courtney) of Johnstown, PA; her granddaughter Ruth of Shaker Heights; her brother John (Kathy) Cargill of Jacksonville, FL; her sister Jane Longo of San Antonio, TX; several nephews, and a long line of friends, students, church members, and others whose lives were impacted by her grace and wisdom. She is also survived by her special feline companion, Mr. Knightley, who now resides with Brad and Court.

Friends will be received from 9am until time of service at 11am on Monday, July 21 at Hindman Funeral Home, 1521 Frankstown Rd, Johnstown, PA 15902 with Pastor Carol Hickman officiating. Inurnment will be at Rosedale Memorial Park in Bensalem, PA.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made in Maggie’s name to any relief campaign of the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church found at https://umcmission.org/ways-to-give/ or to The Humane Society of Cambria County, as a reflection of Maggie’s lifelong love of animals.

Arrangements in care of Hindman Funeral Homes & Crematory, Inc., “Exclusive Provider of Veterans and Family Memorial Care.” Condolences may be made at HindmanFuneralHomes.com