Margaret Alexander

A first among equals, modest to a fault, empathetic to all creatures great and small, at one with nature far and near, quiet, kind, Margaret Alexander brought a unique kind of all-encompassing love to this world. To the end, she was graceful, strong, independent, and singular in her belief that one must control one’s own destiny.

On May 30, 2022, at mid-morning in her beloved home in Santa Fe, Margaret died surrounded by her two boys and husband. She had fought a long and strenuous battle, first with breast cancer, then metastatic ovarian cancer.

Born in 1948 in Sebastopol, California, to North Frisian (Friesland) immigrants Julius Theodore Bohn and Maria Christina Lorenzen, she spent her entire adolescence on the family farm, where she was taught to candle chicken eggs, observed sheep shearing, and learned to drive on the family’s farm tractor. The youngest of three children, she adored her two older brothers, Hank and Rob, both of whom helped raise her on the farm, playing among the many animals and giving her life guidance along the way.

A National Merit semifinalist and Letter of Commendation recipient in high school, Margaret received her Bachelors of Arts degree in history from the University of California-Riverside in 1970. Recognizing her love of learning and books, she went on to earn a Masters of Library Science degree from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon in 1973.

After completing graduate school, Margaret moved to upstate New York and began work at the Cooperstown Farmers Museum, followed by a position as librarian at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. In addition to library duties, she undertook archival conservation and museum curatorship projects. In 1976, she moved on to Kansas City, Missouri, taking a job as the librarian of the Kansas City Museum of History and Science, acting both as curator of collections and as a museum curator.

In the summer of 1978, having met her future husband David at a historical conference in Chicago, she moved to DeKalb, Illinois, home of Northern Illinois University. She immediately began a Master’s Degree program in American history with an emphasis on the Revolutionary era. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Alfred Young, Margaret’s master’s thesis was entitled “To Apprise the People of the Time: The Distribution and Uses of Clocks and Watches in Preindustrial America,” which she was invited to present at an international historical conference in Paris in 1984, the same year she earned her second graduate degree.

Margaret’s next professional move landed her in Denver, Colorado, where she was appointed the curator of history collections at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, a role she filled from 1979 to 1986.

In 1986, Margaret and her family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a place she fondly called home for the remainder of her life. Soon after arriving, she began volunteering at the newly established Santa Fe Institute (SFI), a renowned independent science research think tank focusing on the multidisciplinary study of complexity. Over the next few years Margaret organized SFI’s collection of books and established its present library—one of her proudest accomplishments. She was soon hired as SFI’s first librarian, a “dream job” she held for the next 25 years, until retiring in 2020.

Margaret was extremely active in the community during her 36 years as a Santa Fe resident. She served on the boards of the Carlos Gilbert Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association, Santa Fe Prep, and the Tano Road Association. More informally, she actively participated in her beloved book club for over 30 years and was honored and thrilled to share membership with the Mountain Mommas hiking group.

Margaret’s devotion to and involvement with the outdoors and nature was possibly her greatest love. She lived to be out of doors, hiking at every opportunity, identifying plants, flowers and birds along the way. Eager to learn more about the beautiful space she lived in, she came back from hikes excited to read more about what she had just discovered. Pursuing her love of nature and the outdoors, Margaret served as a board member of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and co-founded the Trails Alliance of Santa Fe. Among her most cherished achievements was spearheading the planning and development of hiking trails around Santa Fe, most notably the La Tierra Trails system in her own backyard.

Margaret was a traveler, always wanting to learn about other cultures, languages, customs and lifestyles. For over a decade she particularly enjoyed traveling with close friend Suzanne Moss to a variety of locations, including eastern and northern Europe, Turkey and Morocco, South America, the “Stans” (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan), Sri Lanka, Japan, and Hong Kong, as well as domestic destinations, including visits to Frank Lloyd Wright designs in Chicago and Colorado’s Uray and Mesa Verde. She held these trips dear to her heart to the very end.

Margaret is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 44 years, David Alexander; her two sons, Christian Lorenz Bohn Alexander (Sarah Miller) of Cape Town, South Africa, and Martin Peter Bohn Alexander of Arlington, Virginia; her two brothers, Dr. Hinrich Lorenz Bohn (Ingrid) of Tucson, Arizona, and Dr. Robert Karl Bohn (Terri) of Storrs, Connecticut; and numerous other relatives in the U.S., on the Island of Föhr, Germany, and elsewhere abroad who love her dearly.

A quiet, kind, loving, and skilled individual, Margaret made everyone around her feel special. She sought knowledge for its own sake, shared happily with others what she had learned, and truly felt compassion for all people land living creatures. Be at one with nature Margaret, those who love you will never forget the light you brought to the world.

Immer geradeaus!

“Bury me lichen side up!”

A memorial service will be held later this year in Santa Fe. Those seeking to honor Margaret with donations, please consider the Trails Alliance of Santa Fe, The Horse Shelter, Espanola Wildlife Center and the Santa Fe Conservation Trust.