Supercentenarian Profile

Margaret Pentecost

Born:

1916-09-16

Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

United Kingdom

Current Residence:

Ringgold, Georgia

United States

Margaret Pentecost is a British-born American supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Margaret Pentecost was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK, on 16 September 1916. In 1924, Margaret traveled with her mother and younger sister from Scotland to the United States aboard the TSS Cameronia, arriving at Ellis Island in New York. The family had been granted special permission to board the ship along with four other families, as Margaret’s father had already gone ahead to California.

After graduating from high school, Margaret was persuaded to spend several months helping at an orphanage in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. What she had expected to be a brief stay ultimately became many years of missionary service in Mexico. While working at the orphanage, she met and married Edward Pentecost, who was working with students at the University of Mexico through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Together, they served as missionaries in Mexico for more than 24 years. During their time in Mexico, they had four children: Edna, who died in infancy; William (Bill); Lois; and John.

After decades of service in Mexico, the family moved to Aldan, Pennsylvania, where Edward accepted a teaching position at Philadelphia College of Bible, now known as Cairn University. Ten years later, Margaret and Edward moved to California, where Edward pursued doctoral studies in Missiology at Fuller Seminary. He subsequently accepted a professorship at Dallas Theological Seminary, while Margaret played an important role in ministering to the wives of students. The couple also frequently accompanied groups of students on trips to foreign mission fields in Africa, South America, and the Philippines, helping prepare them for missionary service across different cultures.

After their retirement, Margaret and Edward were invited to serve for three months at Word of Life Seminary in Atibaia, Brazil. Their planned three-month stay ultimately became three years before they returned to the United States. After several years in Texas, they settled near their daughter in Florida, where they continued their life together until Edward’s death in 1999, at the age of 82.