Margaret O'Shea Badger

Margaret O’Shea Badger, a daughter of Ireland who found her way to Manchester in the late 1950s and decided to stay, passed away at home on February 17 at age 87 after a brief illness.

Margaret was known among her many friends for her lilting Irish brogue, her quick wit and her flare on the dance floor with her husband Don. She was a loving mother and grandmother whose home remained for many years the central gathering place for food, fun and ferocious pitch games with the sprawling family she cherished.

She worked for 40+ years as a server, bartender and hostess at establishments that comprise a who’s who of bygone Manchester, among them the Quality Restaurant, Colburn House, and the Track Fore. Her final job was at Zoey’s Double Hex. Given her high energy and outgoing personality, the hospitality industry suited her well.

Margaret O’Shea was born May 13, 1938, in the tiny village of Ballynacally, County Clare, Ireland, one of 14 children born to John and Margaret Lorigan O’Shea. After her education in local schools, she worked briefly in the county town of Ennis before hopping a TWA flight to New York City by herself in early 1958.

She lived briefly with her uncle’s family in the South Bronx before getting a job on the domestic staff of a wealthy Pan Am executive whose family spent their summers in Manchester – when Labor Day came and it was time to return to New York, Margaret basically said, “You all go on without me.”

Margaret soon met Don Badger, a Manchester farm boy and star athlete at Burr and Burton Seminary, and they married in 1960. Together they enjoyed going out on the town, being anywhere with family and friends, and travel around the country and especially to Ireland. They were just a few months short of their 60th anniversary when Don passed in early 2020.

She is survived by her five children: Terry (Helen) of Chicago, Ill.; Deborah Baker (John) of East Dorset; Donald Jr. (Elaine) of Wells; Michael of Manchester; and Sid (Danielle) of Queensbury, N.Y., along with 11 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her youngest brother, Frank O’Shea of Kildysart, County Clare.

A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, February 28, at Brewster Shea Funeral Home in Manchester from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., with a short remembrance service to follow.