Obituary of Margaret Florence Burden Childs

Margaret Florence Burden Childs, age 83, of New York, NY, died peacefully at home on Monday 18th November 2019. Muff, as she was affectionately known, was born in Los Angeles, CA, on November 9th, 1936, to the late Flobelle Fairbanks Burden, an actress, and Shirley Carter Burden, a photographer. She attended Marymount High School in Los Angeles, before she completed her secondary education at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. She briefly attended Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, before marrying Daniel R. Childs in 1955. Homemaker extraordinaire and mother of seven children, she was a director at William A. M. Burden & Co., a family investment partnership, as well as at the Florence V. Burden Foundation, a family charitable foundation. An honorary board member of the Carter Burden Network, an organization established by her late brother, she was also a former trustee of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She is survived by her seven children and their spouses, Frederick and Beatrice Childs, Nicholas and Jean Childs, Florence Macdonald, Constance Rosengarten, Shirley and Christopher Kelly, Hilary and Kay Childs, and Alexandra and Malachy McKee, as well as 22 grandchildren, two great grandchildren and extended family. Besides her parents, Muff was predeceased by her ex-husband Daniel, brother Carter, and her granddaughter Niamh McKee. Muff was a woman of generous spirit and engaging humor who considered her brood her finest achievement. A lover of books, magazines, needlepoint, fine dining with good company, and the spontaneous articulation of bon mots to thrilling effect, she also reveled in the restorative powers of a good nap. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Saturday, December 14th at 10:00am at Saint John’s Church in Darien, CT. Interment (private) immediately to follow at the Lakeview Cemetery, South Main Street, New Canaan, CT. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Carter Burden Network, Dance Theatre of Harlem or the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.