Margaret Erb "Maggie" Sacks

AIKEN, SC - Margaret E. “Maggie” Sacks, age 65, died on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, in her home after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer.  A native of Concordville, Pennsylvania, she has been a resident of Aiken since 1973.  

Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Maggie knew her to be a sincere woman with a kind heart. Maggie was a skilled artesian and woodworker. She frequently used her many talents in acts of service to her family, church, and community.   

Maggie was a devoted wife, mother, sister, daughter, and grandmother. She preferred an active life: spending time outdoors, teaching her grandchildren new skills, taking on new projects, hiking in Hitchcock Woods, or simply baking an apple pie. It was rare to find her stationary, even in what would be her final year.

Maggie could find the good in everything and in everyone, even in her illness. Maggie saw the world in a positive light and was awestruck by even the simplest of God’s gifts.

Maggie was also a trailblazer. Inspired by her maternal grandfather, who was an accomplished carpenter, Maggie enrolled in shop class in her Pennsylvania high school.  When she moved to South Carolina, she discovered that female students were not encouraged to enroll in shop classes.  Undeterred, she enrolled in shop class as the first female student and demonstrated skills that amazed her fellow students and her instructors.  Following college, she apprenticed under renowned furniture maker Jake Cress in Virginia until she returned to Aiken and opened her own shop, M.E. Sacks Fine Furniture & Design.  She was a founding member of the Woodworker’s Guild of South Carolina in 1979. She spent her early career being commissioned to build custom fine furniture, much of which can still be found in many Aiken churches, homes, and businesses.

Later in life, she and her husband, David, owned and operated Newberry Hall in downtown Aiken from 2001 until the business was sold to Patrick and Natalie Carlisle in 2015.  Most recently, they have focused on managing their real estate holdings while enjoying a semi-retirement, spending more of their time in South Florida.

Maggie and David were long-time members of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church until moving their membership to St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Aiken several years ago. 

Maggie is survived by her husband, David L. Sacks; her daughters, Lindsay S. Tucker (Bennett) of Aiken, Catie S. Naranjo (Roger) of North Miami Beach, FL, and Margaret Emily Sacks of Waynesville, NC; her father, L. Dudley Erb, of Aiken; her brother, Samuel D. Erb (Donna), of Aiken; and her three grandchildren, Nathan L. Tucker, Laurel B. Tucker, and Roger C. Naranjo.  She was predeceased by her mother, Deborah C. Erb.

On February 18th at 3pm, a memorial service will be held at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church with Father Daniel Wagner officiating. Following the service, a Celebration of Life reception will be held at Newberry Hall, 117 Newberry Street, SW, from 4pm to 6pm. A live stream of the service may be viewed by clicking the "watch video" tab in the link below.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 1630 Silverbluff Road, Aiken, SC 29803 or the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, P.O. Box 1702, Aiken, SC 29802.

SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC 29801