James was an Army veteran of WWII and contracted malaria during active duty. He was treated at Mason General Hospital in June of 1945. James served as a postmaster in Mason, NY for a year after discharge.

Peggy lived in Patton, Pa., Phoenix, Az., and Leesburg, Fla. She received training as a nurse at Spangler Hospital, Spangler, Pa., for two years and joined the Womens Army Corps in September of 1943, serving from July of 1945 to March of 1946. Marguerite graduated from the Mason Hospital Nurses School in Long Island, NY, in November of 1946. She and her first husband James Portaro worked together at Pilgrim State Hospital in Brentwood.