In Memoriam: Longtime Yonkers Realtor Margaret ‘Margot’ Bennett

The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors regrets to inform its membership of the passing of a true real estate icon in Yonkers and Westchester County—Margaret Ann (Margot) Loizeaux Bennett—on Oct. 9. She passed away peacefully at the age of 83 surrounded by loved ones.

Bennett started her own successful residential real estate business—Margot Bennett Inc.—in 1980, leading it until her retirement in 2015. She was one of the first females to independently own her own real estate business in Westchester and was very active and served in various positions on the Westchester County Board of Realtors. It was not uncommon to enter her office and find friends stopping by with coffee in order to visit, and in this she was clearly a positive presence in the North Yonkers community where she lived and worked.

She was born on Jan. 9, 1941, in New York City to Dr. Leon S. Loizeaux, Jr. and Helen McAuliffe Loizeaux and graduated from Hastings-on-Hudson High School.

Bennett attended Milwaukee-Dowling College and graduated from the two-year program at Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York. In addition, she traveled to Paris to attend the American College, where she studied French and took classes at the Sorbonne.

After returning to the US, she was hired at Pan Am in New York City as a bilingual secretary. In August 1966, she married Robert Michael Bennett of Yonkers, spending 48 years together until his passing in 2015.

She is survived by her two sons, Michael Leon Bennett and David William Bennett, her grandchildren, and her sister Lynn Smith and brother Leon S. Loizeaux (Rusty). Her daughter Melissa Ann Bennett preceded her in death.

Former colleagues were saddened to hear of Bennett’s passing but shared her influence on them and the Westchester residential real estate market.

“I first met Margot about 30 years ago. She was involved with the Westchester County Board of Realtors (WCBR), the Broker of her own independent company, and a bona fide dog lover—all things that made her a real role model for me,” said Leah Caro, former Westchester-Putnam Association of Realtors President (2009-2010). “As a member of the Board of Directors, she was outspoken and opinionated, never a rubber stamp. She will always be remembered as a renegade of the Westchester real estate world.”

“Margo was a woman who gave her time selflessly to her community as well as her industry,” said 2014 NYSAR President JP Endres. “She will be remembered by many for her support, guidance and the many friendships she fostered over the years.”

Longtime colleague and 2002 NYSAR President Savo Fries said simply: “Margot was a friend from high school through adulthood. Always a lady. May she rest in peace.”

Bennett was a loving and caring person who dedicated her life to family and community. She will be remembered for her unwavering loyalty, generous spirit, and strength, qualities she brought to all who knew her. Her legacy of love and kindness will live on in the hearts of family and friends, and although she will be dearly missed, she will never be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association in her name. Services will be held at the Whalen and Ball Funeral Home, Park Avenue, Yonkers NY on Oct. 22nd from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.