It was June of 1957 when Margie Gillespie and her husband, Ben, made their way up the Hill. Outside of a two-year sabbatical, "We’ve been here ever since," said Margie. "Life in Los Alamos has been really great. We really feel at home here. Both of our daughters, Karol Gillespie Nimick and Anne Gillespie Broughton, were born, went to school, and married here."

After a successful battle with breast cancer in 1992, Margie wanted to work with the American Cancer Society. She helped with ACS financial drives and education programs for several years.

Margie was chairman of the board for the Northern New Mexico Relief Fun and now heads. "Adopt A Family," a program that provides food, Christmas dinner and gifts to needy families. Margie works with churches, schools, and scout troops to provide them with the list of names of families that have requested to be adopted for Christmas. "When you are dealing with 400 frozen turkeys, you have to move fast," says Margie. "I think the largest family I recall helping was a family of 17."

Written by Karen Nilsson Brandt, copyright ©