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O ctober's record-breaking First Tuesday luncheon, hosted by the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Tocqueville Society, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. For two hours, nearly 200 guests at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel were all old friends of 103-year-old Margaret McDermott and 91-year-old Ruth Altshuler — two of the city's most lauded, influential and famously humble civic leaders. The dynamite duo shared the stage in a remarkably candid conversation led by their friend and moderator, Mary Templeton. McDermott shared intimate moments of her life, decade by decade, from her relationship with her mother to her early career as a reporter. Before marrying Texas Instruments founder Eugene McDermott, she was a society editor for The Dallas Morning News. She even had a formative stint overseas, working as a journalist in Europe during World War II. "Going to Germany was a big deal for a girl like me, as someone who had only been to Colorado Springs and maybe a trip to Austin," she said. Templeton gave Altshuler a most modern introduction: "If you google 'Dallas,' 'style,' 'understated' and 'grace,' the first thing that comes up is you, Ruth. Seriously." Altshuler spoke of the profound influence her parents had on her drive to give back to the community, as well as her recollections of being in Dallas the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. She also quoted Albert Schweitzer, whose work as a medical missionary has long inspired her: "Example," Altshuler quoted, "is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing." The takeaway from the day? United Way president and CEO Jennifer Sampson said it best: "They sparkle with charm and authority." BY CHRISTINA GEYER. PHOTOGRAPHY WINN FUQUA. THE GRANDEST OF THEM ALL "I AM HAPPY," SAID MARGARET McDERMOTT, "TO BE IN A ROOM FULL OF FRIENDS." Gene Jones Jennifer Sampson Lydia Novakov Nancy Perot Betsy Dixon Lynette Seaton Diana Self Sam Self Karl Rathjen Carolyn Rathjen Cyndy Malone Mary Templeton Margaret McDermott, Ruth Altshuler Jason Downing Margot Perot Nancy Dedman Erin Gollhofer Lynn McBee Debra Tagg Nancy Gopez Annika Cail Nicole Small Jeanne Whitman Lyda Hill Harold MacDowell Kelly Compton Mary Bartholow Doug Hawthorne Kara Devita Dallas Houston www.ariastonegallery.com