On April 25, the Village of Malverne honored Margaret “Peggy” Hannan with a tree and commemoratory plaque in Chester A. Reese Veterans’ Memorial Park, or Gazebo Park. Hannan was dubbed “The Voice of MalverneTV” for her contributions to the local channel with her voiceovers.
Margaret Hannan passed this past February at 76. She is survived by her husband Michael, her siblings Thomas, Peter, Michael, and Marian, and their families. She was an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
Mayor Tim Sullivan, the village Board of Trustees, State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll, and Father Stachacz of Our Lady of Lourdes all attended the ceremony.
Driscoll addressed the crowd and thanked them for coming out on the rainy weekend to honor Hannan’s memory and celebrate Arbor Day. “You are all the heart and soul of this community,” she said.
Steven Halvey, head of the Tree and Beautification Committee, honored Michael Hannan, another member of the committee. “It is only fitting that we plant this tree in honor of Margaret, Mike Hannan is on the board and has spearheaded initiatives to plant trees throughout the village,” Halvey said.
Mayor Sullivan also spoke at the ceremony, thanking Michael Hannan for becoming closer to him in their shared grief over his late wife. He also showed appreciation for nature and the Earth in celebration of Arbor Day. “I looked at the beautiful sky this morning and thought it was fitting that we are honoring a great person in nature today,” he said. “I have come to appreciate the beauty of nature as of late.”
Sullivan then gave the floor to Michael Hannan. He reminisced on his time with Margaret and his inspiration for wanting to plant a tree in her honor at Gazebo Park. “She would always recount the story of how I proposed to her in this park,” Hannan said. “She’d talk about how romantic I was, but I didn’t even get on one knee,” he joked.
“When Mayor Sullivan asked me to find a place to plant a tree in her [Margaret’s] honor, there was a couple of options, but when I really thought about it, my heart was here,” Hannan said to conclude his speech. He then unveiled the commemorative plaque to be placed under the tree.
Father Stachacz also made a speech honoring Margaret, and blessed the tree with holy water, while also joking that “God was blessing the tree with his own water” on the rainy morning.
Sen. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick concluded the ceremony. “I’m so happy that Beautification Committee is doing so much for the community,” she said. “Margaret was an incredible person; she was always quietly helping people in need. It was an honor to be her friend, I will miss her dearly.”
