Margaret Ann Lancton née Lindberg passed away peacefully Jan. 10, 2026, at her home in Fair Haven. Known as Peggy and “Boots,” she was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, to Dorothy and Malcolm Lindberg. Around the age of 9, she and her family moved to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where she was raised as an only child. Peggy often roller-skated all over Manhattan, especially through Central Park, where she would visit her mom, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital. She attended Julia Richman High School, a very large all-girls school on E. 67th Street and graduated in June 1948.
Peggy was selected to be a member of the All-City Chorus. While she was in high school, she auditioned and was selected as a dance teacher at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Manhattan, and volunteered as a counselor at The Lighthouse for the Blind.
She attended Upsala College in East Orange, where she met her future husband, Walter, whom she married in 1951. They moved to Fair Haven in 1953 and she became a member and past president of the Fair Haven PTA and the Junior League.
Peggy received her master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University in 1964, became the director of Pupil Personnel for the Long Branch School District in the 1970s, then was employed as the supervisor of Child Study for Monmouth County, working closely with the county Superintendent of Schools to supervise all aspects of special education programs in the county. Many said Peggy worked with “an iron fist in a velvet glove.” She was a professor of social work at Rutgers University, president of the board at Ladacin Network in both Monmouth and Ocean counties, a member of the board of the Mental Health Association, the Fair Haven Zoning Board and the board of the Blood Bank.
She had a passion for travel and spent a lot of time traveling around every continent except Antarctica; she made friends all over the world. Her only travel disappointment was her inability to visit Foula, a remote island off the Shetland Islands of Scotland, where her grandmother came from; the winds were too strong to fly there.
Peggy was an animal lover, an avid reader, cared greatly about all people, and enjoyed every minute of her blessed life as an eternal optimist. She was the center of her children’s universe. People were always drawn to her for her kindness, acceptance, empathy and respect. She was extremely independent and resilient and a true advocate for children and adults with disabilities.
Peggy was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Walter, in 2005. She cared for him over several years during his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. She is survived by her daughters, Kathy and Kristin Lancton; Kristin’s sons, Ian and Scott Di Benedetto; Scott’s wife Chelsie; and their children, Scotty and Penelope.
The family is very grateful for the loving care and devotion provided to Peggy by Lorna Bennett and Mary Mellone of Comfort Keepers, as well as many dedicated professionals from Gentiva Hospice.
The family will hold a private service to celebrate Peggy’s life. Please consider making a donation to either the Ladacin Network, at 1703 Kneeley Blvd., Ocean Township, NJ 07712, ladacin.org; or to the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County, 106 Apple St., Tinton Falls, NJ 07724, mentalhealthmonmouth.org.
Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the January 29 – February 4, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
