Arlington Pioneer, Cathedral Parishioner Margaret Troxell Dies

By Michael Flach
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 4/18/02)

Margaret M. Troxell, a pioneer in the development of Arlington County and a longtime parishioner at both the Cathedral of St. Thomas More and St. Charles Borromeo Church, died April 9 after a brief illness. She was 93.

A funeral Mass was offered April 12 at the Cathedral. Father Ronald J. Gripshover, parochial vicar, was celebrant and homilist. Msgr. John T. Cilinski, former Cathedral rector, concelebrated. Interment was at St. Anthony’s Church Cemetery in Emmitsburg, Md.

Recognized by her many friends for her trademark hat and gloves, Troxell was one of the first female journalists in the Washington area. She started her professional career in Northern Virginia in the 1930s when she became editor of the Commonwealth Monitor. She later served for many years as a member of the board of directors of the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Former Herald editor Charles W. Carruth, now living in retirement in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., said Troxell was a great friend and supporter of the paper during its early years of development. She was influential in getting Herald employees added to the diocesan retirement plan.

Born Feb. 3, 1909, Troxell moved to Arlington in 1932, just a few months after the County Manager plan was established under which Arlington County has since been governed. She took an active part in the county’s growth and development as news editor and part owner of The Arlington Sun newspaper.

She was recognized as Arlington Woman of the Year in the 1960s in recognition of her journalistic achievements. She also was a charter member of the Arlington Historical Association. She was honored in 1982 on the occasion of her 50^th anniversary as a member of the Arlington Business and Professional Women’s Club.

Troxell’s other professional activities included ownership of a public relations firm. She worked for the Washington Post and The Washington Star, as well as newspapers in Maryland and Pennsylvania. She was an information officer with the U.S. Department of Labor and received the department’s Distinguished Career Service Award.

A graduate of St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., Troxell was a past national president of the Alumnae Association and served on the board of directors. She edited and produced the college’s alumnae publication "as a labor of love" for four years after the college closed in 1973. She also was an original board member of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Troxell was an original member of the Brent Society, a professional organization started by former Arlington Bishop Thomas J. Welsh in 1980. She was a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington for 42 years prior to attending the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Her parish activities included the Sanctuary Society and the Legion of Mary.

"Active participation in the growth of Arlington County from a rural community to a metropolis was a challenge," Troxell once said. "Few writers have the privilege of covering the development of a system of government from its inception."

Troxell leaves no immediate survivors. Memorials can be made in her name to a charity of choice.

Margaret Brewer contributed to this report.

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