P.K. O'Meagher

P.K. O'Meagher – June 26, 1942 – May 18, 2026

P.K. O'Meagher, known to those who loved her as Teapot, Madnezz, Sugarmama, and the Mule, passed away on May 18, 2026, at her home in Aptos, California. She was in the loving presence of her husband of 49 years, Stewart Gibson, who cared for her daily after a battle with cancer. She was 83 years old. P.K. was born on June 26, 1942, in Richmond, Virginia, to the late Robert C. Meagher and Patricia Quarles Meagher. P.K. announced herself to the world early. She won a comic book cover art contest as a nine-year-old child, and never once slowed down from there. She married Lee Butcher in 1960, and together they had two daughters, Patricia and Briget. Later, as a single mom, P.K. raised both girls with fierce determination, creativity, and an unshakable belief that life should be beautiful. P.K. was well known in theatrical circles in Norfolk, Virginia, and was cast in several theater productions, including Hot L Baltimore, The Unworkable Witch, and Hamlet in which she played a role with her dear friend Montague Gammon III. She involved her young daughters in community theater at Smithfield Little Theater and other local community theaters. All three of them appeared in productions of "The Music Man" and "Brer Rabbit” where P.K. played the Big Bad Wolf. P.K. earned her SAG card appearing in "Cactus Flower" co-starring with Anne Francis. She even landed a Hollywood role in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," playing a mutant eating out of a hubcap, a detail she surely relished. P.K. also secured a summer season gig at the Land of Oz in Boone, N.C., playing the role of The Wicked Witch of the West. With only 2 weeks notice, P.K. sealed up her personal belongings in a closet for the summer, made a deal to sublet her apartment to management to house workers doing maintenance on the complex, and found roles for both of her daughters in the production. It was yet another indicator of her strength to manifest what she loved in this life and created another magical theatrical adventure for the family. P.K. was a professional artist, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a journalist, and a card-carrying member of Mensa. She broke barriers as the first woman draftsperson at Honeywell Engineering Corporation. She built a distinguished career in the creative arts, working in the Art Department at WHRO channel 15 in Norfolk and eventually moved on to serve as Director of Creative Services at Apple Computer in Campbell, California. Her talents for organization, creativity, beauty, and the fabulous factor led P.K. to create professional events including corporate events at Apple Computer. She and her husband Stewart created, planned and decorated the annual Mensa Asilomar Conventions held at the Asilomar Retreat Center in Monterey, CA for many years. P.K. was also an accomplished and prolific artist in her own right, specializing in ink and watercolor nudes, as well oil and acrylic modernizations of family heirloom portraits based on female ancestors in the family line. P.K. lived by her own philosophy: "If it moves, dress it up. If it doesn't, decorate it." She brought beauty and art into every corner of the world she touched. Her style was eclectic and original; think feathers, red velvet shoe chairs, beaudacious boas and lots of art. As well-known and beloved figures in Provincetown summer festivities, a bench in PTown stands dedicated to her and her beloved lifelong platonic soulmate, the late Glenn Johannsen. The bench is inscribed with their PTown handles, Madnezz and Sinbad. P.K. was a legendary hostess and an accomplished cook whose love language was hospitality. She adored champagne and bubbles, finding a great deal (esp free), gardening, cats, cats, and more cats, cooking & hospitality, phonebook doodling mini masterpieces, hot tub garden parties, and what her loved ones affectionately described as plotting, plotting, and scheming. P.K. also gave back to the community, volunteering for many years with Grey Bears, a non-profit senior support organization in Santa Cruz, CA. P.K. is survived by her husband, Stewart Gibson; her daughter, Patricia Butcher; her granddaughter Jade and great granddaughter Kandice; her sister, Jan Alten; her niece, Alison Alten; her nephew, Nick Alten; her high school sweetheart and second husband Ira James Smith III, and dear friends Montague Gammon III, Jerry Halliday, Michael Murphy, and Joyce Patterson-Rogers. She was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter Briget Butcher, and her cherished friend Glenn Johannsen. P.K. lived life entirely on her own terms. She believed that everything is better with champagne and bubbles and leaves us all with great love as well as a quote to remember, especially in times of loss like this: “Forgive Everyone, Forgive Everything” Oh, yes and one more thing. “Scheme”