Margaret Covell Phelan
April 29, 1914-Sept. 30, 2013
Millbrae, California

Margaret Mary Covell Phelan died of natural causes on September 30, 2013 at the age of 99.

She was born April 29, 1914, in Havre, Montana to Clara (Allen) Covell and Frank Lee Covell. Just after her 16th birthday, Margaret graduated from the local high school as valedictorian. Two years at Northern Montana College earned Margaret substantial merit scholarships, which made possible enrollment at Smith College in Massachusetts, from which she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1934.

Eager to give back to her community, Margaret began her career as a social worker for a Montana state agency, helping families struggling to obtain basic services during the height of the Depression.

While the job entailed a fair amount of travel, it didn't quite include the kidnapping that Margaret endured one cold February night in 1935. Though she was forced at gunpoint to drive a small-time gangster from Havre across the state line and well into North Dakota, Margaret remained typically unflustered both during and after the incident. Years later, she recalled: "I don't think he wanted to stop in North Dakota but he probably got really tired of me asking about his childhood."

At the time she was engaged to Warren Phelan, another case worker at the agency. In March 1935, they married and spent the ensuing eight years living and working in Montana. But in 1943 Warren joined the Navy as a Lieutenant. Margaret enrolled at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland as a graduate student, ultimately earning a Master's Degree in Social Administration (the equivalent of today's MSW).

Following graduation, Margaret worked for Cleveland Children's Services. Unfortunately the enforced separation occasioned by the War took its toll on Margaret's and Warren's relationship and they divorced.

Margaret moved to San Francisco and worked at the Family and Children's Agency. In 1949 she bought a house in Millbrae, where she lived (with a brief hiatus) until her death.

Always interested in exploring other cultures, Margaret made a point of vacationing each year in some place abroad; she especially loved France.

For a brief period in the mid-1950s Margaret worked at the Territorial Hospital in Hawaii in Psychiatric Social Services as a clinician and as a supervisor of university students pursuing a career in social work.

In the 1960s Margaret joined San Mateo County Social Services, doing what she most loved: helping aspiring social workers to attain their potential by supervising and counseling them toward educational pursuits and career development.

Margaret's parents died long ago. Her younger sister, Helen (Covell) Cole, lived until 2004. Three of Helen's daughters, each of whom played an active role in Margaret's life, are alive and well: Judy Cole-Martin of Bainbridge Island, WA; Patty Cole Frizzell of Newport, WA; and Barbara Cole of Miles City, MT. Also important to Margaret was her one-time supervisee, good friend, and go-to support person, Donna (Rodewald) Constantinides of Woodside, CA. Margaret's body was cremated and the ashes strewn at sea. Memorial donations in her name may be made to the Peninsula Humane Society, a charity close to Margaret's heart.