Margaret Santacroce of Sag Harbor, who was called Peggy, died on Jan. 30 at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, with her two children by her side. She was 91.
A stay-at-home wife and mother for most of her adult life, Mrs. Santacroce was also a skilled seamstress who did alterations for the Basailes clothing store on Washington Street and Whalers Cleaners on Main Street. She had many private clients as well, her family said. She sewed clothes for her children and grandchildren, made the wedding dresses for her daughter and daughter-in-law, and even created a mother-of-the-groom dress for herself.
Mrs. Santacroce was a member of the Old Whalers Church for many years. In an old family photograph, her father can be seen waving from the top of the church steeple.
She was born on Aug. 23, 1931, to Herbert Hildreth and the former Hilda Wagner of Sag Harbor. She attended the Bridgehampton School for a short time before graduating from Pierson High School in 1949. She was the last surviving member of that graduating class.
She went on to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she studied retailing and graduated in 1952. She then returned to Sag Harbor and went to work for the phone company. She also waitressed at Sal and Joe’s Restaurant on Main Street and at the Huntting Inn in East Hampton.
She married Joseph Santacroce, an Air Force veteran from Sag Harbor. He survives, as do their two children, Joseph Santacroce of Sag Harbor and Marla Santacroce of Center Moriches. She also leaves four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In addition to sewing, Mrs. Santacroce, who was an original board member of the Sag Harbor Youth Center, enjoyed baking and cooking. She especially loved to make fudge for holidays. She loved animals and often cared for injured cats, birds, squirrels, and feral cats that turned up at her house.
Mrs. Santacroce was cremated. Her family has suggested memorial donations to the Old Whalers Church, P.O. Box 1241, Sag Harbor 11963; the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, online at arfhamptons.org; the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, 228 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays 11946, or the ASPCA Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, D.C., 20077-7127.