Margaret G. McElroy

Margaret G. McElroy passed away Friday October 24, 2025, at 11:30 am in Corpus Christi, TX at the age of 82. She passed peacefully in her bed with her son present after two years in hospice and a quick downturn in health. She was a strong independent person. Her great accomplishment was that she overcame an adverse childhood and many health challenges as an adult to create a family and lead an exemplary life. She loved people, animals, disabled veterans, music, comedies, garage sales, second hand clothes, organic food, clean water, clean air, and padre island. She hated chemicals, pollution, preservatives, mold, processed food, bad drivers, and hurricanes. She had great empathy for people who have endured severe hardship, poverty, injustice, disability, trauma, or poor health. She always gave more than she received. She never asked for special favors or wanted luxuries. She rarely took any medication or drugs for health issues, including for pain. It was important to her to live a natural life and she did. Her husband John and her son Will are happy she is at peace but they miss her terribly. It is said by all who knew her that she was a kind, giving person and a loving mother and wife.

Margaret McElroy was born Margaret Gertrude Montandon in Tulsa, OK on July 27, 1943. In 1946 at the age of three she moved to Corpus Christi with her parents and brother so her father could start a job teaching at Del Mar College. She lived most of her life in Corpus Christi.

Margaret is survived by her goddaughter Katherine Margaret Neill of Victoria TX, her son Will McElroy and husband John McElroy of Corpus Christi, her sister Roxanne Montandon of High Rolls NM, her brother Blaise Montandon and his wife Marlene of Newport News VA, her niece Michele Montandon of Atlanta GA, and her nephew Mark Montandon of Richmond VA.

Margaret is preceded in death by her father, Blaiselion Montandon, he was a professor of piano at Del Mar College from 1946-1977; her mother, Gertrude Eischen, a dancer, singer, and homemaker born in France in 1917 and came to the US in 1933; her stepmother, Elinor Montandon, she was a music teacher for CCISD from Bishop TX; her stepbrother, Tommy Moore, who passed away in 2006; and her uncle Roger (her father’s brother) he was a magician and juggler, lived on a pecan farm in Bixby, OK, and reached the age of 99.

Growing up in Corpus Christi Margaret had many memories. Her family lived first in a house on Fig Street, then on Terrace St, and then on Cambridge St. She attended Elizabeth Street El, Sam Houston El, and Baker Jr. High. She said ages 1 to 7 were a happy time for her. She had many friends in her neighborhood including a girl named Caroline. Margaret loved animals of all kinds: dogs, cats, birds, lizards, and guinea pigs. She enjoyed catching Texas horned toads on the playground, riding her bike, going to the movies, swimming with her mom at McGee beach, and eating Whataburgers with her dad.

By 1955 Margaret’s life became more difficult. Her mother and father got divorced and she moved to Las Vegas NV then later Phoenix AZ with her mother Gertrude, brother Blaise, and baby sister Roxanne. Blaise was one year older than Margaret and Roxanne was ten years younger. Her mother had trouble finding work and money was scarce. Her sister Roxanne recalled that for the first five years of her life Margaret was like a mother to her. One time Margaret found an injured baby bird. Knowing their parents would not allow her to take it home, she hid it under a bush and nursed it back to health using an eye dropper. In the 8th grade she received recognition and praise for winning the school spelling bee. Being an excellent speller was a skill she was proud of for the rest of her life. She went to high school in Phoenix for the first two years.

By 1959 Margaret and her siblings returned to Corpus Christi to live with their father and their new stepmother, Elinor. Ellie had been her brother Blaise’s second grade teacher. It was a positive change for Margaret. The family lived together in a house on Casa Rosa Street along with a new step brother, Tommy Ward Moore. Margaret attended Ray High School her junior and senior years and graduated in 1961. After high school she took classes at Del Mar College. She went on summer trips in Texas with LRY (liberal religious youth), she worked at camp Shawondasse on Lake Corpus Christi as a campfire girl counselor, and she got a job wrapping presents at a department store. She transferred to Texas A&I Kingsville for her junior and senior years of college, graduating in 1965 with a degree in education.

At Texas A&I Margaret met her future husband, John McElroy. John grew up on a farm between Banquette and Robstown. He was the quarterback on the football team at A&I. They met on a double date introduced by two friends, Irmalee Yett and Louis Neill. Louis was John’s roommate and Irmalee was a dear friend of Margaret. When Irmalee and Louis got married they named Margaret the godmother of their first child, Katherine Margaret Neill, an honor she deeply cherished.

After college Margaret became a teacher in CCISD. She taught second grade at Windsor Park El. John moved to Flour Bluff and lived on Laguna Shores Road. He taught junior high school science, drove a school bus, and coached the football team. Their engagement was enthusiastically supported by both families. They were married at Christ Lutheran Church on Ayers Street. Margaret said she was unsure if John would show up on the big day, but when he did it was the beginning of a 58 year marriage. They spent their honeymoon in Kerrville, TX.

In 1967, the year they got married, John got a job working as a lab technician at Celanese Technical Center on Clarkwood Road. He worked there for 35 years until he retired in 2003. The couple rented a house on Shiels Street and then on Whitaker. After teaching four years Margaret became a social worker for Nueces County, making home visits in the Corpus area and handling an overwhelming caseload. After hurricane Celia hit in 1970 the couple purchased a two bedroom house on Cottage Street near Horne Rd and Kostoryz. In 1972 after a long pregnancy Margaret gave birth to a 9 pound baby boy, Will Brady McElroy, who she loved and nurtured. She also got a part time job as a copy editor for the classified newspaper Ad Sack, putting her excellent spelling skills to use.

In 1977 Margaret’s father Blaiselion passed away from multiple myeloma. It was around this time that Margaret’s health started to affect her quality of life. She suffered headaches, food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, mold toxicity, abdominal pain, and weight loss. She tried going to numerous doctors none of whom could help. She was determined to find a solution and in 1981 with the support of her stepmother and husband she relocated to Tucson AZ for six months, hoping the dry desert climate would improve her health. Ultimately she returned to Corpus Christi and began managing her symptoms by experimenting with her diet.

Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and beyond Margaret was the center of her family. She was an amazing homemaker, mother, and wife. She was always busy shopping, cooking, cleaning, gardening, repairing the house, maintaining the cars, tracking the finances, and parenting her son. She watched her son grow up and graduate from high school and college. She enjoyed spending the holidays with her family and her husband’s large family.

One thing that people might not know about Margaret is that she had an adventurous side. She surprised her husband one day when she signed up for scuba lessons at Copeland’s dive shop and went on a scuba diving trip off an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Her favorite place to go swimming was Padre Island. She loved to go to the beach there in July when the water was warm, the waves were big, and there were no jellyfish or rip currents. Once she saw a little girl standing on the shore afraid to go into the water. She encouraged the little girl with kind words until she braved the crashing waves and jumped into the surf.

Margaret also had a political side. She was a fierce advocate for the environment. In 2008 she fought for clean air and water in Corpus Christi. A company planned to build a power plant called Las Brisas that would burn coke waste from the refineries to produce energy. Margaret thwarted the company reps whose job it was to court local residents for their approval. When they visited her at home she rebuffed their gifts of chocolate and wine and signed a petition supporting a legal complaint against the project’s air permit which it required to move forward. In 2013 the Las Brisas project was abandoned and it was never built.

In addition Margaret had a secret strength inside her that people overlooked. For example, in 2012 she fell and fractured her femur. After surgery and physical therapy she recovered and regained her mobility. In 2014 her family was stunned when she went to the Texas State Aquarium and spent four hours walking around to see each and every exhibit. She especially loved the sea otters. Her husband and son were tired out. They had to sit on a bench and rest.

All the years she lived with health issues Margaret rarely complained. She endured osteoporosis, environmental illness, chemical sensitivity, and functional bowel disease. She rejected invasive medical procedures, medications, or hormones offered to her by doctors because of their negative side effects. In this she was frequently misunderstood. She was committed to being in control of her own health. She avidly researched health topics and kept herself informed about nutrition and alternative medicine such as TCM, ayurveda, acupressure, tapping, massage, and medicinal plants and herbs. She compiled a large library. She formed her own opinions by listening to her body and letting her experience be her guide. Until her last day her mind was sharp and she made all the decisions regarding her health. One of her favorite sayings was “The issues are in the tissues.”

In 2016-17 Margaret suffered multiple compression fractures in her spine due to osteoporosis. By November of 2018 she was using a wheelchair to get around. In January 2020 she moved to Brookdale Assisted Living near Holly and Airline Rd. She lived there in apt 708 for nearly six years. They could not accommodate her special diet so her husband or son cooked for her and brought her meals. Margaret kept busy with a daily routine, reading the newspaper, taking notes, writing letters, keeping a calendar, planning her menus, sunning herself on the porch, avoiding covid, and spending time with her husband and son. In the early days of covid she survived multiple outbreaks at her facility. She was careful to protect herself by wearing a mask and isolating in her room until she could get the vaccine.

Throughout all of her years Margaret possessed a positive attitude and enthusiasm for life. She loved to read the comics in the local Caller Times newspaper. She loved to decorate her room with photos of birds and animals she collected from wildlife calendars and greeting cards. Her favorite bird was the blue footed boobie. She loved trying new foods from different cultures. She loved singing or humming folksongs, pop songs, and funny songs from the 1950s and 60s. Some of her favorite tunes were: You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd, The Purple People Eater, My Friend the Witchdoctor, Boney Maronie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Poisoning the Pigeons in the Park, If I Had a Hammer, and Christmas songs of all kinds. She loved watching old movies on TV, especially comedies. Her favorite comedians were Jerry Lewis, Steve Martin, and Jim Carey. She was deeply touched by the 1928 silent film The Wind starring Lillian Gish. It’s the story of a woman who survives living on the prairie during the dustbowl by persevering despite great adversity. 

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