Cartoonist’s Mom, Inspiration For Marge Simpson, Dead At 94
Published 5:00 pm Monday, May 6, 2013
The woman who may have inspired Marge Simpson has died.
Margaret Groening was the mother of Matt Groening, the Simpsons’ creator. Margaret Groening died in Portland in late April at age 94.
Ross William Hamilton / The Oregonian
Margaret and Matt Groening
According to her obituary, Groening grew up in Everett, Washington and was her high school valedictorian and was “Miss Everett.”
She went to Linfield College and married classmate Homer because “he made her laugh the most.”
Groening taught high school English before settling down to raise her family.
In interviews over the years, Margaret Groening said she didn’t go by “Marge,” but that didn’t stop fans from equating her with the character in online messages, according to the Oregonian.
Matt Groening used many of the names of his family when he created the now-famous cartoon.
His father, Homer, died in 1996 at the age of 76.
According to the Oregonian, Margaret and Homer contributed to the Oregon Symphony and Trail Blazers.
She’s survived by her children Matt, Lisa, Maggie and Mark, 8 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.