Margaret F. Knecht Livensparger was born April 26, 1916 in Edon, Ohio, to Harvey F. and Verna D. (Bookmiller) Knecht.

She earned a teaching certificate from Bowling Green State University and began her teaching career in Ohio in 1934. By 1937 she was teaching in the rural Strauser School in Centre Township, Williams County, Ohio.

Margaret married Jay W. Livensparger on August 22, 1937 in Ohio. By 1940, the couple were in Jackson County, Michigan, where she continued teaching. In 1954, the Livenspargers came to Holt, where Margaret joined the staff of Holt Public Schools as a sixth grade teacher at Midway Elementary. For six years Livensparger was principal of Midway Elementary.

Livensparger graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Michigan State University in 1962 with honors. She was also a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, the professional society for women educators.

While teaching at Midway, Livensparger regularly taught sixth-grade curriculum on air transportation in which her students read on aviation, watch film on aviation, and made model planes. She took her classes on remarkable field trips by air from the Capital City Airport to Willow Run for a full aviation experience.

She worked 25 years as a teacher fulltime in Holt until her retirement in 1978. She then continued as a substitute teacher from 1978 to 1995. In addition to teaching in Holt Public Schools, she taught the Delhi Township Babysitting Clinic for 25 years, 1970-1995.

In addition to education, she was active at the Holt United Methodist Church. She was vice president of the Holt United Methodist Church Women and secretary of the Holt UMC Child Enrichment Center. Additionally, she organized annual mission trips for youth to Red Bird United Methodist Mission beginning in 1982.

Livensparger was elected to the Holt Board of Education in 1996, where she immediately took on the position of treasurer. As a school board member, she was a member of the Diversity and Restructured School Day Committee, member of the Board Policy Subcommittee, member of the Sex Education Advisory Board, member of the District Building and Grounds Committee, and chair of the Board Curriculum Subcommittee. She served on the Board of Education for eight years until her death.

She had additionally been a charter member of the Holt Education Foundation, which awarded her the “Outstanding School Employee” award in 1996. The education foundation still awards scholarships annually named in Livensparger’s honor to high school seniors in the performing arts.

While on the Board of Education, Livensparger co-chaired the Gunn School restoration committee with Inge Kyler. The committee secured the purchase of the historic schoolhouse in 1997 to prevent its demolition, raised funds and arranged labor for its restoration, and shared appreciation for the historic site for years.

Mrs. Livensparger taught until her final days. The day before her passing, she taught a group of students at the Gunn School about the days of rural one room schools, where she began her teaching career in Ohio. Margaret Livensparger died October 23, 2005 in Holt and is buried in her hometown of Edon, Ohio, alongside her husband who preceded her in death in 1979.

For fifty years, Margaret Livensparger was an icon in the community. Following her death, Holt High School Theatre Manager Jeff Miller promoted the dedication of the new HHS auditorium in her honor, which had the support of school administration and the Board of Education. In December 2006, the Margaret Livensparger Theater at Holt High School was officially named and dedicated at a joint concert of the HHS band and choir.