Margaret "Peg" O'Donnell Coffin, 88, longtime resident of Oak Brook and Hinsdale, former judge, prosecutor, civic leader, wife, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on December 21, 2013.
She graduated first in her class in 1949 and was a member of the Law Review at St. John's University (NY) School of Law. Legal and business positions included: Circuit Court Judge of DuPage County; Assistant State's Attorney of DuPage County (Criminal Division); Executive Development Program graduate and Manager at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. in New York City. Extensive civic leadership included: Member, Hinsdale District 86 Board of Education; President, St. Isaac Jogues Board of Education; Founding Member, first President and Director of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers; Member and Acting Chairman, Zoning Board of Appeals for the Village of Oak Brook; Chairman, Zoning & Annexation Committee for Oak Brook Civic Association in rewriting controversial proposed zoning ordinances and leading negotiations with developers over 1,500 acres in Oak Brook's early days; President, Director and Co-Founder of the Fullersburg Woods Area Association; and Executive Board Member, Education Advisory Committee for the Catholic Diocese of Joliet.
Always a woman of diverse interests, her passions ranged from being a private plane pilot, including aerobatic flying, to her behind-the-scenes efforts in local political campaigns and initiatives.