Margaret Ann Nesbitt

Margaret Ann (Peg) Nesbitt, a long-time resident of Westport, CT died peacefully on June 6th with her family in Bridgeport Hospital. She was 93. She was born on August 11, 1922 in Paw Paw, Michigan. She was the daughter of Harriet Burhans and Earl Burhans who was the Michigan State Senator responsible for the 1941 legislation allowing Michigan State University to fill the school vacancy when the University of Chicago dropped out of the Big Ten Conference. A graduate of Michigan State University in 1942, she received a bachelor's degree in English and was recognized by the Mortar Board National Honor Society and invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. She was active in campus politics and was elected the first woman student body president as a senior. Upon graduation, she worked for Nash-Kelvinator in Detroit. It was there that she met her husband Edward J. Nesbitt of 45 years who was an engineering graduate of the University of Michigan and had accepted a position with Sikorsky Aircraft. The couple married in 1946 and moved to Connecticut where they built one of the first houses on High Point Road in Westport and raised a family a six children. After her children left for college, she led an extremely busy life volunteering her services for numerous charity organizations. She was an active member of STAR (formerly Society to Advance the Retarded, currently renamed to Lighting the Way), the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, and St. Luke Church. One of her greatest joys late in life was singing with St. Luke's Choir and being with her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Edward and her brother Dr. John Burhans of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is lovingly survived by her six children and seven grandchildren: Tom Nesbitt and granddaughters Elizabeth and Kathryn of Seattle, WA, Anne Nesbitt of Weston, Jean Davis and husband Dr. Michael Davis of Albuquerque, NM, Dr. David Nesbitt of Boulder, CO, Mary Byrne and grandson Ryan of Lafayette, CO, and Bill Nesbitt and wife Judy and grandchildren, Dan, Peter, Philip, and Carolyn. Friends may call Friday, June 10, from 5-8 p.m. in the Spear - Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Luke Church, Long Lots Road, Westport, on Saturday, June 11 at 11:00 a.m. The family invites you to attend a reception in the community room immediately following the funeral service. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, or St. Luke Church in Westport, CT. For information or to sign an online guest register please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com