Margaret Rose Hackman
ROCKVILLE, MD — Margaret Rose Gekas Hackman, 81, peacefully departed this world on December 29 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Born on March 28, 1944, Margaret (Peggy) grew up in a Greek American family in Lake Linden. The family owned the historic Lindell’s Chocolate Shoppe, serving home-made ice cream and candy, hamburgers and malted milkshakes to the Copper Country for many decades. Her father recognized her writing and editing talents early on, encouraging her to write letters to the editor and submit corrections circled in red. He also instilled in her a lifelong obsession with baseball, listening with her and her brother to the Tigers vs the damn Yankees on the radio signal from Detroit. After moving to DC, she became a rabid Orioles fan.
Peggy attended Lake Linden-Hubble High School and was awarded the Benedict Scholarship in 1962. While visiting family in Ann Arbor, she witnessed President Kennedy’s speech calling for the establishment of the Peace Corps. Shortly after graduating with a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University, she was accepted into the Peace Corps and moved to Nigeria, where she spent 2 years teaching English and establishing a Girl Scout troop.
Back in the U.S., Peggy embarked on her journalism career, first as a reporter at the Miami Beach Daily Sun and next at the Elgin Courier-News. While in Elgin she helped establish their writers’ union, after which she was offered a career position at the Washington Post which spanned 28 years. Peggy began as a copy editor, eventually editing Style Plus, the news-you-can-use section in Style.
Peggy ran four marathons, and completed most of the Appalachian Trail, section-hiking it after retirement with her closest friends. She enjoyed spending time outdoors with her family and tending her garden, when she wasn’t yelling at players and announcers for the Orioles broadcasted from her yellow Sony Sports boombox. She also dedicated much of her time to the service of various programs at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, where she edited the Church newsletter, chaired the Feed the Hungry program for several decades, and was honored as Parishioner of the Year in 1996. She often could be found in her kitchen with her mother, baking baklava, spanakopita, or any number of Greek delicacies for her friends and family.
Peggy has been the beloved wife of Robert Hackman for 48 years. She was the loving mother of James Ahmed, Andrea (Ronald) Coffman and Nicole (Tanner) Hutt. Cherished grandmother of Santana and Jade Ahmed, Kleo and Kelten Hutt and Frances and Eleni Coffman. Dear sister of James Gekas. She is also survived by many other loving relatives and friends.
A service will be offered at Robert A. Pumphrey, Rockville, Inc. on Friday January 9, 2026 at 11am with a visitation prior from 10
to 11AM. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rainbow Place Shelter in Rockville, MD rainbowplace.org or to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund: curealz.org