The floral arrangements brightening up rooms in St. Joseph’s Hospital include all sorts of different flowers, but they have one thing in common: they came from Marguerite Oberg.
Oberg, 89, drives to a wholesale shop in downtown Atlanta once a week to select the roses, lilies, carnations and other flowers that are lovingly arranged by the volunteers in the hospital’s gift shop.
And she’s been doing it for 36 years.
“Every week it’s something different,” Oberg said. “We’ve had a lot of fun over the years.”
In 1975, Oberg started volunteering at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She noticed that the hospital didn’t carry any flowers and decided that was something she could contribute. Her family was in the restaurant business, and Oberg had always made flower arrangements for the tables.
“I’d been working with flowers all my life,” Oberg said.
Oberg’s idea grew, and when St. Joseph’s Hospital moved from downtown Atlanta to its current location in Sandy Springs, Oberg was asked to help design a floral department for the gift shop.
“We started out with some carnations and some ferns. From there it took off,” Oberg said. “It has sort of been my project.”
Now, the sale of flowers is one of the hospital’s biggest fundraisers.
Caroline Monte, a volunteer, said Oberg has logged more than 15,000 community service hours at St. Joseph’s Hospital and was recently recognized for her volunteer service by the Sandy Springs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“She’s just remarkable. She’ll be 90 in April,” Monte said. “She’s an inspiration. She’s done amazing things in her life.”
There is a dedicated corps of around 10 ladies that have been volunteering regularly with Oberg over the years. She said she keeps coming back in part because they make volunteering so much fun.
“It’s a coordinated effort,” Oberg said. “We’ve been together a long time and have wonderful friendships.”
It is easy to see that Oberg feels at home in the floral department. At nearly 90, her tall, slender figure moves around with ease to gather the flowers, greenery and ribbons needed for the arrangements.
She banters easily with the other volunteers, like Chris Norwood.
On a recent Thursday afternoon, Norwood asks Oberg “should I add a ribbon to this or not?” looking at a vase with a few large purple lilies and greenery.
“I would say ‘or not,’” Oberg shoots back quickly, followed by a hearty laugh.
Oberg said that’s one of the best things about the group that volunteers: they all have something unique to contribute.
“Everybody has a different perspective,” Oberg said.
Community service has always been an important part of her life.
As a 16-year-old student in New York, Oberg was required to do a community service project.
“I volunteered for the New York Association for the Blind. That’s what started me (on community service),” Oberg said. “It gets you hooked after a while. You meet some great people and you learn a lot.”