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Margaret Ann Lundy passed away peacefully at her residence in the Beatitudes, Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 7, 2019, her sister Genie at her side. She fought a courageous 10-year battle with a rare progressive neurologic disease which limited her physically, but never her spirit.
Born on Nov. 3, 1951 at Gila General Hospital in Globe, Margaret attended Miami-area schools, graduating from Miami High in 1969. She earned a Bachelor’s in English and education from the University of Arizona in 1973. After teaching high school the next year in Tucson, Margaret moved to North Carolina. She fell in love with the Southeast and lived primarily in the Durham and Chapel Hill area until her illness brought her back to Arizona in 2016 to be closer to family.
Margaret lived a rich and fascinating life, making countless friends and touching many lives in a very positive way. She taught adult learners in both vocational schools and in correctional institutions, striving to help her students lead productive lives.
She realized her lifelong professional dream to run her own restaurant beginning in 1989 by opening a small chicken take-out place. This modest beginning shortly evolved into “Margaret’s Cantina,” a popular restaurant in Chapel Hill. “Margaret’s” was an early adapter of the “buy local” movement and the Cantina served a fusion of American Bistro cuisine combined with the flavors of the Southwest, featuring many dishes reminiscent of the Globe/Miami Mexican food of her childhood. Margaret’s illness forced her to sell the restaurant at the end of 2014, but the new owner has kept Margaret’s menu and much of the staff intact and it remains a popular and unique eatery in Chapel Hill.
Margaret was preceded in death by her father, James H. Lundy, Jr. She is survived by her mother, Jacqueline, of Globe; her sister Genie (John) Barajas, of Miami; her brother Jim (Michele), of Phoenix, seven nieces and nephews, 18 grandnieces and nephews and one great-grandniece. She was an inspiration to all who knew her.
A graveside service will be held at the Mountain Breeze Memorial Gardens cemetery, 3750 US-60 on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 11 am.
