Margaret (Gail) Biggar passed away on January 1, 2025, in Shelburne, Vermont. She died

peacefully, in her own bed, surrounded by her children.

Gail was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Dr. Clement Smith and Margaret Earhart Smith on

March 2, 1931. She grew up in Cambridge and Brookline before attending Radcliffe College,

from which graduated in 1952. In the mid-1960s Gail received a master's degree in Early

Childhood Education from Tufts University. She married two times: first, in 1955 to harpsichord

builder Eric Herz, with whom she had three children; then, in 1968 to Raymond Biggar, a

professor of English at Boston College, with whom she had two children.

Gail's life in large measure revolved around her children and her interest in music. A talented

'cellist and viola da gambist, she was an active participant in and supporter of the early music

scene in and around Boston. This took many forms, from directing the Children's Chorus at the

Harvard (Mass.) Unitarian Church in the early 1960s, to many hours of in-home music-making,

to country dancing (she met Ray while Scottish Country Dancing), to a devoted, years-long

engagement with the Boston Early Music Festival. When her children were older, Gail also

studied and practiced physical therapy, working with children with disabilities including

maltreated children in Romanian orphanages. This professional turn was somewhat out of the

blue but completely consistent with her commitment to helping others and improving the lives of

those around her.

After living in Harvard, Lexington, and Concord, Mass., and then Freeport, Maine (where she

took joy in being walking distance from three grandchildren), in 2010 Gail moved to the Wake

Robin Community Care Facility in Shelburne, Vermont. Her family has often observed that she

was early for everything--she got to the airport 3 hours before take-off and to the theater 45

minutes before curtain—and that in typical fashion she moved to Wake Robin arguably sooner

than necessary. But one happy consequence was how much she was able to give the Wake

Robin community for many years, including arranging music for and leading a handbell

ensemble.

Gail is survived by her children Michael Herz (Jean Roiphe), Jonathan Herz (Carolyn), Margaret

Albright (John), Robert Biggar (Angela), and James Biggar (Stephanie Boutin); her sister Hilary

Smith and brother Reynolds Smith; twelve grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Wake Robin for the kind, generous, and humane care

they provided in recent years.

A memorial is planned for later this year.