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Peter Choate

We are extremely sad to report the passing of our dear friend Peter Choate. Pete was the cofounder and long-time leader of our organization. He passed away peacefully January 13, 2025, at the age of 83. Pete and his wife Margaret are shown below in March, 2016 at the Penrose-Strawbridge House.

Both Pete and Margaret committed the latter parts of their lives to our group, preserving the history of Horsham Township, the restoration of the Penrose-Strawbridge House and service to our community. Margaret passed away April 5, 2017.

photo of pete and margaret choate with antique wooden pitchfork
Peter Jacquet Choate was born on May 28, 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to his parents the late David and Ann “Nancy” Choate, His family, brothers Robert and David and sister Ellen, later moved to Media, PA where he attended Penncrest High School. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1963.
Pete Choate riding the tractor

Pete’s early career was as an auditor with ARA and UGI. After marrying his 2nd wife, Margaret, they both retired and purchased the Village Bookstore in Horsham. Pete also owned and operated Amerimicro Computers and an Exxon gas station.

Interest in History

Margaret and Pete shared a love of old houses and historic preservation. Margaret founded the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association in 1997 and Pete served as Executive Director until his death. She and Pete retired in 2002 to volunteer full time for the association. They restored their 1742 farmette in Horsham and later became the full time caretakers and restoration team at the c1721 Penrose-Strawbridge property next to Graeme Park.

In additon to this work, Pete was also involved in the preservation and restoration of the 1853 stone school house at Babylon and Horsham Roads, and the c1753 Novotny House on Chestnut Lane. Margaret and he donated personally to the restoration of the Lukens Clock at Loller Academy in Hatboro.

Pete and Margaret Choate donate to the Loller Clock restoration

Fast Cars!

Pete loved fast cars and was a long-time member of the Old York Road Sports Car Club.

pete and his cat gypsy

Youth Aid Panel and ARD

Pete worked with the Montgomery County Youth Aid Panel (YAP) since its creation in 2000. He was also co-founder of the Hatboro-Horsham Youth Coalition with YAP creator Carla Cloninger. The Montgomery County Youth Aid Panel members and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office recognized Pete for outstanding service to this program in February, 2015.

Pete also worked with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program, providing community service opportunities to adults convicted of DUI.

Many of the folks who helped out at the Penrose-Strawbridge Farm as part of this program became interested in the property and the work HPHA was doing and became members and/or came back to volunteer on their own.

People building frames to hold the bee hives.

Pete and Margaret

Pete and Margaret were devoted to each other and a story about Pete is also a story about her. They were married in 1977 and were togther nearly 40 years when she died in 2017.

They shared a passion for history, old buildings and restoration and devoted their later years to this type of work. He was by her side taking care of her through her struggle with Alzheimers. Seeing what this disease did to her broke his heart. After Margaret’s death Pete threw himself into finishing the projects Margaret had been working on. Completing the restoration of the Penrose-Strawbridge House and creating a professional archive of the objects and documents in our collection. And, in what is usually an exception in a small local non-profit like ours … he recruited good people to take over the organization and continue the work.

To keep Margaret’s legacy alive Pete commissioned a historical timeline mural at the new Hallowell Elementary School by local artist Justine Musick. He also endowed a scholarhsip in Margaret’s name at Bucks County Community College.

Community Service

Pete Choate was involved in many things: HPHA, Judge of Elections, volunteering at Horsham Day, Greater Horsham Chamber of Commerce, helping at Graeme Park and as a devoted dad, steo-dad and grandfather. He was always up to something: running our historic 5K (below), organizing Cow Plop Bingo or a Metal Detecting Event or parking for the air show or putting together an Old Tyme Baseball game.

Pete and group of runners at historic 5k

Peter Choate was a doer and a very kind and generous person with his time, his talents and his money. He was a friend to many and a great friend of mine for the past 25 years.

You will be missed my friend.

image of peter choate in red turtleneck and blue blazer