Margaret T. Ahern was born in New York City February 16th, 1921 to John and Margaret (O'Connell) McCrohan.   Though always a New Yorker at heart, Marge moved at the age of 7 with her family to Chicago and it was there where her artistic talents came to be recognized and eventually flourished.  She was particularly encouraged early-on by her art teacher at Providence High School, Sr. Mary Angela, and would later study professional art and cartooning at Chicago's Harrison Art School, the American Academy of Art, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and  the Chicago Art Institute. 

In the early 1940s she became Editorial Cartoonist for the Chicago's New World Newspaper and shortly thereafter, cartoonist of the monthly strips " Beano" (1948-99) and "Angelo" (1951-54).   In the early 1950s she was the on-air cartoonist for Chicago's WGN-TV show "Cartuno."  A few years later she was drawing the cartoon strips which would win her the most recognition, the internationally syndicated panels "Speck the Altar Boy" (1954-79) and "Our Parish" (under pseudonym Peg O'Connell, 1966-1979).

Published books included: Speck the Altar Boy ('58),  Presenting Speck the Altar Boy ('60),  A Speck of Trouble ('64), The Best of Beano ('66),  Our Parish ('68), and The Best of Beano, Vol. 2 ('87), with other work appearing in the books Sugar & Spice ('49), Mickey the Angel ('53), and Nice Guy ('54), and contributory work for magazines National Review and New Woman, among others.  In 1975 Marge's cartooning was awarded official presentation at the International Cartoon Exhibition '75 in Berlin and, two years later, at the International Pavilion of Humor in Montreal.   As Marge enjoyed further career success, she became listed in the World Who's Who of Women  and in all five editions of Who's Who of American Women.

Marge was married to Edward Ahern fifty-two years when she passed away after a brief illness in 1999, one year before Ed himself died.  Ed had also shown early promise as a cartoonist but eventually decided against it during the economic uncertainty of the 1930s; he retired as a station superintendent with the U.S. Postal Service in 1974.  Together Marge and Ed raised five children: Michael, Mary Pat, James, Joanne, and Eddie - all of whom have carried on expressions of artistic talent themselves in one form or another since.  

Marge's cartoonstrip "Beano" continues on to this day in the form of reruns as "Beano Revisited" in Chicago's Waif's Messenger Magazine.