Margaret Loranger, 89, taught in New York City, raised family in Bedford
- Thane Grauel
- 4 hours ago
- 1 min read

Margaret Loranger, 89, a resident of Bedford from 1968 to 2020, died on April 22 in Santa Monica, Calif.
She was born June 10, 1935, in New York City, the daughter of Jakob H. and Meta Hecksteden Martens, immigrants from northern Germany. She grew up on Popham Avenue in the Bronx with her older brother, Jacob.
Loranger attended Hunter College High School and graduated with honors from Hunter College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received a master’s degree in English from Fordham University, and taught for seven years in the New York City public school system before raising her three children, Douglas, Jane and Robert.
During her student days, she was a sales clerk at Macy’s in Herald Square and modeled in the store’s newspaper ads. In later life, she worked at Fox & Sutherland in the children’s books and toys department and at Woodworker Toys, both in Mount Kisco.
It’s hard to convey Margaret’s extraordinary thoughtfulness and generosity, and how much she loved people and talking, especially talking to strangers, her family said.
Into her 70s, she was also an adept solver of New York Times crossword puzzles. No day of the week was too hard for her.
Her husband of 61 years, Armand W. Loranger died in 2019 at their home in Bedford.
Loranger is survived by her children, Douglas of Walnut Creek, Calif., Jane Bordal of Santa Monica, Calif., and Robert of Goldens Bridge, and two grandchildren.
Donations in her memory may be made to the American Indian College Fund at https://collegefund.org.