Margaret Augusta (Karch) Nygren GORHAM – Margaret Augusta Karch Nygren, 86, of Gorham, passed away peacefully on May 10, 2024, surrounded by her family after a long illness. Margaret was born Aug. 20, 1938, to August Julius Karch and Emily Kunst.
She was raised in the tight-knit community of Queens Village, N.Y., with her younger sister, Barbara and younger brother, Raymond.
Margaret graduated high school from Lady of Wisdom Academy in Ozone Park, N.Y., in 1956.
She went on to attend Berkeley Secretarial School on Park Avenue in New York City, N.Y. One of her first jobs upon graduation was for a stockbroker on Wall Street.
She was always so proud to say that she worked in an office at the top of the Empire State Building. Margaret was raised as a Queens girl through and through, but she had a very special place in her heart for Camp Six Oaks in Riverhead, N.Y.
Growing up she would spend her summers at Camp Six Oaks with cabins filled with close friends and family. In the summer of 1958, Margaret met the love of her life – John Hamilton Nygren. Hamilton, as he was known by his friends and family, was visiting his grandmother at Camp Six Oaks who was a good friend of Margaret’s mom.
Margaret and Hamilton eloped on Dec. 30, 1961. They lived in Queens, New York, until Hamilton’s work brought them to Pennsylvania where they welcomed their first son, James Nygren, in 1965.
A few years later, after a move to Maryland, they settled in New Hampshire where they had their younge.
