On Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Mary “Meg” Duarte (neé Magens) left this life with the same authenticity, grit, resilience, and love she exuded for her first eighty-five years. Meg was born to Mary “Maysi” Magens (neé Davisson) and Garrett Magens in 1940 in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Her sisters, Margery “Margie” (born 1929) and Barbara “BarB” (born 1933), went away to college when Meg was still young, and she grew up almost an only child. She was certainly one of the few girls on her street. Undeterred, Meg befriended Jimmie Horn and Dickie Johnson, who gladly included her when climbing trees and running races. Jimmie and Dickie also welcomed Meg when playing Cowboys & Indians, always according Meg the honor of representing our indigenous countrymen. Meg spent her summers with her mother’s extended family in Lewes, Delaware. The Davisson family was large, counting five sons and two daughters (including Meg’s mother). Summers in Lewes were idyllic and overrun with cousins. They revolved around swimming, hanging out on the beach, and marathon sessions of canasta and parcheesi. Many evenings while Meg’s mother and Aunt “Sis” listened to Phillies games on the radio, Meg would duck out to the Lewes Dairy Queen to meet friends and flirt with local boys. Meg’s love of Lewes endured, and she passed it on to her children. Meg graduated from Lansdowne-Aldan High School in 1958. Right out of school, she went to work as an administrative assistant at a Philadelphia public relations firm, followed quickly by stints at A.W. Ayer Advertising, Petrik & Stephenson, Villanova University, and eventually the University of Pennsylvania. While keeping the Penn ROTC Detachment organized, Meg found time to learn how to fire, disassemble, and clean a rifle and would occasionally teach the hapless cadets how to use a map and compass. One directionally challenged cadet, Henry “Hank” Duarte, never really got the hang of land navigation, but Meg fell in love with him anyway. Meg and Hank married on February 23, 1963, and welcomed their daughter, Nina, while still at Penn. While Meg herself never served in uniform, she served the United States as an army spouse from 1964 to 1992. Hank was commissioned a U.S. Army Ordnance officer in 1964, and the young couple embarked on a nomadic life typical of Army families. Before planting a stake in Colonial Heights and refusing to budge, Meg lived in six states and three countries over the course of fifteen moves. During those travels, Meg and Hank welcomed three more children: Henry “Brud”, Garrett “Gary”, and Mary. Meg made wherever her family happened to be feel like home. Although Nina may have been Meg and Hank’s oldest child, she was not Meg’s first. Just out of high school, Meg knew the heartache of putting her first child, Joan Manning, up for adoption. Later in life, Meg experienced great joy when Joan successfully found her and re-established a bond. Joan has woven herself into the fabric of Meg’s family and the hearts of Joan’s brothers and sisters. Joan, an experienced educator in Central Virginia, has been an enduring source of comfort to both Meg and Hank.

The vagabond military lifestyle made it difficult for Meg to pursue her own career goals. She was never daunted. At many posts, Meg secured work as an administrative assistant or office manager. Eventually, she realized she had a knack for sales and sold everything from Tupperware to real estate. Meg’s most lasting employment was as a Real Estate agent serving in the Colonial Heights office of Century 21. To this day, it is not entirely clear whether Meg was a natural salesperson, or whether she just enjoyed swapping stories with customers, clients, buyers, or other agents. Regardless, she loved to hear their stories even more than she loved to share her own. Perhaps the only thing more constant in Meg’s life than upheaval was her Catholic faith. At every post, Meg made herself an integral part of the local parish—most recently St. Ann Catholic Church in Colonial Heights. She relished serving in whatever capacity she was needed – choir member, reader, usher, gift bearer, or lay Eucharistic minister. She helped others explore their own relationship with God and each other through the Cursillo and Marriage Encounter programs. Meg was a long-time and enthusiastic member of the Military Council of Catholic Women (MCCW), serving a term as President of the MCCW Italy Region. Aside from her religious service, Meg was a long-time and active volunteer with the American Red Cross and the United Services Organization (USO). Meg took great joy in pouring coffee for young soldiers passing through the Richmond International Airport and listening to stories of their travels . . . and sharing a few of her own. Perhaps Meg’s most heartfelt service was to the teens of St. Ann Catholic Church. Having herself had a difficult adolescence and having watched her own children and grandchildren deal with the struggles of growing up, Meg was determined to share her hard-earned experience with St. Ann’s teenagers or, as she called them, her “grandkids”. Meg could almost intuit what a struggling teen was dealing with, and she was never hesitant to swing a hammer right beside them, as she did for several summers in the Tri Cities Workcamp program. Those teens returned the love when in recent years at St. Ann yard sales, they would check in on Meg to make sure she was staying out of the sun and drinking plenty of fluids. Meg brought out that kind of selfless concern for others. Meg was also a dog lover. She and her childhood dog “Duchess” were almost inseparable. Other canine friends included Spot, Susie, Coco, Tipper, PB, Sheena, Spooky, Cindy Lou Who, Toasty, and Sugar. Never one to discriminate, Meg also loved cats, who included Melissa, Tiger, Crispy, Jessica, Scaredy, Ralph, and Bud. Meg was preceded in death by her mother Mary Edwards Magens (neé Davisson), her father Garrett Berry Magens, and her sister Margery Davisson Huemmler (neé Magens). She is survived by her sister Barbara Berry Gallione (neé Magens); by her children Joan, Nina, Henry, Garrett, and Mary; by her grandchildren John, Chris, Joan, Clifford Jr. (“CJ”), Samuel (“Sam”), Madeleine (“Maddie”), Sophie, Jacob (“Jake”), Garrett, and Jackson. Meg is also survived by great grandchildren, who she would have relished spending more time with if only she had more time. A funeral mass will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, April 25, 2026, at St. Ann Catholic Church 1711 Route 1 S. Chesterfield, Virginia 23834. Interment will be private. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, Meg would be honored by memorial contributions to St. Ann Catholic Church, Youth Ministry. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Colonial Heights Chapel of E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory 2033 Boulevard Colonial Heights, Virginia. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.