Margaret M. Szydlik

Maggie Szydlik, who once closed her eyes, put a finger on a map and, as a result, emigrated from London, England to San Francisco, California, died Friday, 23 April, at her home in Winter Park after a lifetime of world travel. Margaret Mary McLaughlin was born in Finchley, North London, to two immigrants from Ireland: Henry McLaughlin, of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and his wife Sarah, of Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. Throughout her life, Maggie joked that she had to leave Finchley because "Maggie Thatcher was the Member of Parliament for Finchley and there was simply no room for two Maggies in Finchley." After starting her career with the BBC in London, she moved to San Francisco and got a job with NBC News. While with NBC, she worked with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1969, she married Frederick P. Szydlik, who was serving in the U.S. Navy, and moved with him to Washington D.C.. Maggie transferred to the NBC affiliate in Washington. Among her assignments with the news department was coverage of the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at which Leonard Bernstein conducted the premier of his Mass. In 1972, the Szydliks emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, where Maggie worked for the country's public television service in news and current affairs. She also received a BA degree from Victoria University. The Szydliks lived in New Zealand for seven years before returning to the U.S.. They lived in Albany, NY, Boca Raton, FL, and Vienna, Austria where Fred was on assignment for his employer, IBM. In 1997, the couple moved to Winter Park. Maggie was an active member of the English-Speaking Union and the University Club of Winter Park. She was also a member of many book groups, including the Morse Literary Group. All her life, Maggie reveled in her Irish roots, delighted in her English heritage, and remained addicted to reading and traveling the world. Fred, her husband of 40 years, is her only survivor. In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations in Maggie's memory to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Orlando, through the Orlando Health Foundation, 3160 Southgate Commerce Blvd. Suite 50, Orlando, FL 32806, or at www.orlandohealth.com. A get-together to celebrate Maggie Szydlik's life will be held at a later date

Margaret M. Szydlik

April 23, 2010