Margie Sue Williams

 Margie is the picture of a Mom. She is the picture of a Grandma. She is the picture of a Great-Grandma. She truly loved her family and they loved her. She was sweet and funny and never said anything bad about anyone. She believed in God and family. That doesn’t mean she didn’t appreciate a good joke and would often cut them out of a magazine or paper and make copies if it was good to send to her family or friends. The woman had a really good sense of humor. 

Margie loved the color red. It was her favorite color, and I tend to think it was because she was born on Christmas Day in 1931. She would always gravitate toward anything red. You always knew that if she had to pick out something---if it came in red—it was a done deal. That was why all of Bill’s trucks after he retired were “red” and that also explains the red outfit she is wearing right now. 

Margie and Bill were married for 66 years. She was a farmer's wife/homemaker who worked hard. Bill would farm and worked shift work at a refinery. She never missed preparing him a good meal before he went to work and had something ready for him when he came home. They were a team. When he retired, Bill took over cooking breakfast. When asked why-he said that she deserved no less as she had kept him going all that time, kept him healthy, well fed and took care of him...he could do no less for her. 

She also had a thing about chickens. She collected ceramic chickens but knew her way around the real thing. Gary says she would catch a chicken and cut its head off with an axe, but she always had her eyes closed.... ALWAYS. 

Margie had 2 sisters. They would keep in close contact until her older sister Julia died then she and Thelma became each other support system. They would constantly call each other and talk for hours even though Thelma was in Arkansas. They always had each other's back. These two were thick as thieves and knew everything that was going on in each other's lives. They lived to talk. 

She loved flowers and spending time in her garden. Mom spent countless hours outdoors raising fresh vegetables for her family. She loved birds and had multiple bird feeders drawing the birds in as she sat watching them. All the grandkids helped keep those feeders full. You were not leaving her house without checking the bird feeders. 

When they lived at the White Place they had an issue with snakes. She was a great killer of snakes, always saying “The only good thing about a snake is a dead snake.” She broke several hoe handles over the years. One day, Gayla and Gary saw a BIG bull snake go under the propane tank. Margie went and retrieved Bill’s 22 that held 16 rounds. When she started shooting, she emptied the gun. Every now and then you would hear a bullet hit the propane tank. About two days later when Gary noticed a ripe odor while mowing. He grabbed a hoe and pulled the dead snake from under the tank seeing one of the bullets ripped the snake from head to tail. This is when she became “Mom-the Great Snake Killer!” 

She and Bill went to all Gayla’s and Garys basketball games. She was always their biggest promoter. Bill would work long hours, but he would get off or trade with someone. As he was coming home, Mom would have fresh clothes laid out and off they would go to Gayla’s and Gary’s games. When Gayla played in college, I don't think they missed a game at K-State. They traveled to 2 or 3 games out of state. 

Margie loved to shop. She was always looking for and ready for a good bargain. Voilet Hicks and Mom would go shopping every Wednesday. They were on the hunt for the best items at the best price. They were known to see an item at one store and would leave to go to another store . If the item they saw at the second store was “too High” they would go back to the first store. They put miles on their cars. One day they were in KMART and Violet’s necklace was caught in the cart. While she was trying to get it loose, the Blue Light Special went off across the store. Violet said “just push the cart and go---I'll keep up.” That’s what they did! 

She promoted her family. Mom always decorated, having great meals for every holiday. She sent out notes to people and remembered everyone’s Birthday. You got notices on Halloween, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and just about any time she deemed it a good day to send a card. Of course, it might have a copy of a recipe that she found, possibly a bible verse that took her fancy or a really good joke but she made sure she had Gary make copies, so no one was forgotten. 

She liked to cook and was inventive in the kitchen always looking to try new recipes. She was well known for bringing a special walnut cake to bazaars for auction then watching the bidding war that went on for that cake. Her strawberry cake was exceptional as the family well knows. Her grandson Elliot loved her cucumbers...delish! 

Margie loved to fish with her family but she loved her kids more than anything. One day they were trying to catch bait to set lines. She fished with a cane pole and a cork. It was the only pole she would use. When the fish hit the worm she would set the hook and pull out. Once a 2 lb. bass took the cork and disappeared. When it hit, she pulled so hard it arched over everyone and hit the bank. She was so excited she wanted someone to get the fished before it went into the water...was not a problem as she had pulled so hard she knocked it out. It didn't move. The woman didn’t know her own strength. 

Margie would help any way she could and once tied a rope to Gary when he was a boy so he could go out in the water to bring in a large catch—she had the rope so tight that he could hardly move. Asked her why and she said ---” the river wasn’t going to get her baby boy.” 

She spent several years writing a column titled “The Wonsevu News.” It was a homey column that talked about the people in that local area. She knew what was going on and made sure she promoted the people around her. She sent the news to Peabody, Cottonwood Falls, Marion and Florence. 

Margie had a kind spirt that was friendly and social. She liked nothing better than a good talk and could connect with anyone. When she was in Extended Care at Keepsake Kottage, she basically adopted the entire staff. She treated them like her grandkids, and they treated her like their grandmother. It was a good relationship, and she was happy with them. 

Now you might think Margie was a perfect mom and she was- unless you played cards with her. Our little secret is that Margie was competitive when it came to Skipbo, Uno, Pitch or Pinochle. The woman liked to win and if you were her partner you needed to up your game or she would give you the death stare. Bill loved to get her riled when playing cards and would laugh about it as she did not, ever, like to lose. 

Margie had a good relationship with God. From the time she was baptized at the Baptist Church in Florence, Kansas she had an ongoing deep relationship with God and Jesus. She read her devotional daily right up until the day she died. When the Baptist church closed-she and her family attended the Christian Church in Wonsevu and later the Christian Church in Florence. She was an active member in the Ladies Aid Society in Wonsevu and participated in all their events including their yearly Kick-Off Bazaar. 

This woman had a good life full of people, love and laughter. She would be your friend, your confidant, your grandparent and your mom. She was liked by a lot of people and had a kind spirit that drew people to her. Mom would appreciate all the people who attended this ceremony and would have been the first to say thank you for coming and being a part of her celebration of life. She would have been the one out here talking to all of you and telling these stories.