Margaret Burgwyn Cooley

Published 9:14 am Friday, December 28, 2012

Margaret Burgwyn Cooley passed away on December 27, 2012 at the age of 93.

She was born on December 3, 1919, in Woodland, NC. To the late Judge William Hyslop Sumner Burgwyn and Josephine Griffin Burgwyn.  She attended Woodland Olney School and graduated from Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh in 1938. She then earned a degree in Sociology from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC in 1940.

She married the late Tillman Webb Cooley of Suffolk, VA, in 1942. They lived in Woodland until 1955, when they moved to Jackson NC. Margaret lived in Jackson until 2003, then moving to the Fountains of the Albemarle in Tarboro, NC.

She was a lifelong Episcopalian and member of  The Church of The Saviour in Jackson, as well as The Society of Colonial Dames in North Carolina, and had a variety of interests such as painting, reading and genealogy.

Margaret was most proud of her role as mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

She is survived by her four children: Tillman Webb Cooley Jr. (Margaret) of Dallas, TX; David Edgar Cooley (Carolyn) of Greensboro, NC; William Burgwyn Cooley (Kay) of Jackson, NC; Gwyn Cooley Pearce (Gary) of Raleigh, NC; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, Margaret was predeceased by her three brothers:  John Griffin Burgwyn, William Hyslop Sumner Burgwyn Jr., and Henry King Burgwyn. She was the last of her generation of Burgwyn and Long cousins, a group she loved and enjoyed all her life.

Margaret’s family would like to thank the staff at Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, and the staff and residents of The Albemarle, especially Alverta Brown, for the care and friendship shown during the time of her illness.

The family will receive friends and family at Askew Funeral & Cremation Services, 731 Roanoke Avenue,, Roanoke Rapids, NC, on Saturday, December 29, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Memorial funeral services will be held at The Church of the Saviour in Jackson, NC at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 30 with Rev. Duncan Jones officiating. Interment will follow the service at the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Church of The Saviour, Jackson, NC 27845.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.askewfs.com.