Margaret Royal Laybourn

Margaret Laybourn, mother of 10 and legendary peace activist, passed away at 99 on December 18, 2022 in Cheyenne, surrounded by her loving family.
Margaret was born September 18, 1923 in Casper, Wyoming to Kathleen and Royal Reed. She moved to Cheyenne in the 8th grade where she proceeded to build her extraordinary life. At 15, Margaret began the first of her entrepreneurial enterprises when she and her father built a shooting gallery to entertain the troops at F.E. Warren AFB. She loved to dance and would occasionally leave a friend in charge of the shooting gallery to run upstairs and dance with soldiers at the USO, then run back down to reload the rifles. Around this time, she started working at a local flower shop and, when she was 18, she bought the shop for $500. The Margaret Reed Flower Shop became Cheyenne’s go-to florist for weddings and funerals. A talented floral artist, Margaret traveled to Miami and New York City to present her designs at national fashion shows. She also began a long legacy of writing for the newly created Florists Transworld Delivery newsletter for florists. Her success in the flower business allowed her to travel and live in Mexico City and across South America on her own. These were heady, post war times and she dove into the adventure. In Mexico City, she briefly attended the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escutura y Grabado, where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera taught. She absorbed their social and political activism, as well as the vibrant Mexican culture, which she carried with her throughout her life. Traveling alone,
she winged across the Andes in DC-3s, danced at embassy balls, and visited Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Chile before returning to her flower shop in Cheyenne.
It was at the flower shop that Margaret met Bob, the love of her life, who was Assistant Manager at the nearby Woolworths. It was, as they say, a match made in heaven and they were married from October 11, 1947 until Bob’s death in 2019. Those 72 years were filled with children, adventure, activism and activity,
always taken on together. They bought a house on Warren Avenue, which became headquarters for the great Margaret Laybourn enterprise, and where her 10 children were born and grew up. The trampoline in the backyard was known by all as the centerpiece of a lively and generous household. It was also from Warren Avenue that she began her life of political, peace, and antinuclear activism. As the New York Times wrote in 1997, Margaret was “considered the Rosa Parks of the anti-bomb movement”. She was the lone protester, pregnant and with a child by her side, when Atlas missiles arrived at Warren AFB in 1958. Her activism continued for the next 60 years, including during the Vietnam War when, instead of Christmas lights, she draped the Warren Avenue house in black material and put up signs reading “Christ Is A Baby In Vietnam”. Margaret also stood in solidarity with efforts to support racial and social
justice, elimination of the death penalty, labor unions, farm workers and environmental protection. She saw something of Jesus in everyone she met and practiced regular acts of kindness and support to all she encountered. Alongside her activism, and with Bob leading the way, Margaret rarely shied away from outdoor adventures. From bike rides in the Snowy Range, to floats down the North Platte River, to climbing Gannett Peak at 60 years of age, Margaret was game. She used those many adventures and her love of the history to reinvent herself as a freelance photographer and writer, a career she continued into her 80’s. She was published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, the Casper Star Tribune, and
Fenceposts, and a career highlight was her coverage of President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 visit to Jackson Hole.
Not least of her accomplishments was the raising of 10 outspoken, daring, hardworking, activist children. Despite the time required to cook, clean and care for this growing flock, Margaret always found creative outlets in neighborhood plays and pageants, puppet shows and parades. She prided herself on being in 75 years of Frontier Days parades.
She is survived by eight of her children Peter (Barbara) Laybourn, Felicity Lynch, Melissa (Caroll) Leger, Royal (Lezlie) Laybourn, John Laybourn (Madeline Algier), Dan Laybourn, Tatiana Maxwell (Ted Weaver), Jim (Julie) Laybourn; her son-in law Dennis O’Neil; grandchildren Nate (Shannon) O’Neil, Jackson Laybourn, Kathleen (Joe) Jaure, Josephine Lynch (Sam Carlson), Christopher (Mary) Leger, Rachel Leger, Doran (Hannah) Laybourn, Hayden (Anna) Laybourn, Annalee (Farhad) Irani, Jade Laybourn, Stephanie Carneal, Caroline Sowell, Laramie (Eric) Ardissono, India Maxwell (Jonah Barta), Keats
Maxwell and Marrakech Maxwell; and great grandchildren, Oliva O’Neil, Makenna Ortiz, Cole, Atticus, Seneca, Doran and Arabella Jaure, Micah Leger, Atlas Laybourn, Kaia Laybourn, Serina Elliott, Vilas Laybourn, Derik Laybourn, Zarin Irani, Bronson Carlson, Royal Ardissono, Carina Janis, Victoria and Vanessa Carneal.
She was preceded in death by her devoted husband Bob, her beloved sister and best friend Mary June Maffeo, her children Bob and Dimity, grandchildren Robert Reed Laybourn and Jimmy Lynch; and her son-in-law Jim Lynch.
A funeral mass will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday January 7, 2023 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cheyenne. Reception to follow where friends are encouraged to share their stories of memories of Margaret. A rosary will be held December 30, 2022 at 12:00pm at Mary Star of the Sea Church, Cancun, Mexico.