Margaret was born Feb. 1, 1940, to the late Charles and Margaret (Casella) Trefz, in The Bronx, New York City. After her father’s passing at an early age, she was raised by her mother, whom she loved dearly. They were inseparable.
While a student at Aquinas High School, Margaret met her future husband, William F. Harkins, riding in a freight elevator when they both worked at Parkchester General Hospital in The Bronx. William, who was operating the elevator, insisted Margaret agree to a date before he allowed her to leave. They have been together ever since, sharing life’s ups and downs at stops that included Parsippany, N.J., Corona Del Mar, Calif., North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tucson, Ariz. and Ave Maria, Florida.
Margaret and William married, June 8, 1958, at The Church of St. Helena in The Bronx. They enjoyed 66 years of marriage. After graduating from Queens Community College in New York City, Margaret went to work as a registered nurse at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. With care and compassion throughout her lengthy professional career, she went on to serve in a nursing capacity at Pelham Bay General Hospital, in The Bronx; College Hospital Costa Mesa, in California; Good Samaritan Hospital, in Cincinnati; Ohio; and Saint Barnabas Medical Center, in Livingston, N.J. To honor her mother who died of kidney failure, Margaret was especially devoted to her patients as director of the Monroe Dialysis Center in Ohio.
Throughout her life, Margaret enjoyed gardening, incessant shopping and tending to her many pets including dogs, cats, ducks, geese, rabbits, parrots, and roosters. She adored the two Boston Terriers, Ruby and Pearl, she leaves behind.
A loyal and enamored wife, Margaret was a loving mom and grandma, too. Her enduring and valiant battles with, arthritis, tuberculosis, breast cancer, a leg amputation, pneumonia, COVID and, finally, bacterial infections, taught her children and grandchildren how to fight and gave them might. A stronger person would be hard to find.
Margaret is survived by her devoted husband, William Francis Harkins, of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and eternally grateful sons Joseph Harkins, of Cape Canaveral, Fla.; and William Harkins, of West Chester, Ohio, and his wife, Patricia; daughters Margaret Naayers, of Maumee, Ohio, and her husband, John; and Rose Marie Weed, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; granddaughters, Meaghan (Harkins) Gardner, of Acworth, Ga., and her husband, Jeremy; Margaret Naayers, of Brookhaven, Ga.; Kasey Harkins, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Jessica Sallese and her husband, Matthew of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Jordan Harkins, of Milburn, N.J.; grandsons William Harkins, of Jamestown, Ohio, and his wife, Lyndsey; Nicholas Naayers, of Naples, Fla.; Patrick Harkins, of Atlanta, Ga.; and Adam Naayers, of Maumee, Ohio; and six great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Saturday, March 2, 9:30 a.m., at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 930 SW Tunis Avenue, in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
