Published: October 29, 2009 09:59 pm      

Margaret Box

Margaret Viola Bumpass Box was born on Nov. 22, 1922, in Ford County, Texas to Cliffie Adlee Weathered Bumpass and Lloyd Chesterfield Bumpass. She passed away on Oct. 28, 2009, in Palestine. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Lloyd Bumpass; and her husband, Edward Dale Box. She is survived by her sister, Joy Bumpass Downs of Greenville; her daughter, Vickie Box Jackson and her husband Pat; her son, Rickey L. Box and his wife Sally; grandchildren, Rickey L. Box Jr. and his wife Michelle, Douglas Box and his wife Lisa, Everett Box and his wife Sharon, David Jackson, Jonathan Jackson, Keri Jackson, and Richard Jackson and his wife Samantha; and nine great-grandchildren.

Her early childhood was spent in West Texas under the watchful eye of her maternal grandmother Virginia Weathered while her mother worked alongside her father in the fields. Later the family managed a horse ranch and Margaret had many wonderful stories to tell about watching the cowboys break the ponies and getting into mischief as a child on that ranch.

The family later moved to Collin County where Margaret attended school and, like other children of that era, helped on the family farm. After high school she worked in the fields with other young people in Collin County, even following the cotton crops into West Texas. During the onion harvest they sorted and bagged the onions to be shipped by train from Farmersville, Texas and she worked alongside her high school boyfriend and future husband, Edward Dale Box. When the harvest season was over “Maggie,” as friends and family called her, and her sister boarded with a family in town and worked in a candy kitchen.

Margaret and Edward were married in May of 1942. During wartime it was impossible to purchase new furniture at any price. One of her proudest accomplishments as a new bride was to pick a bale of cotton “all by herself” in order to buy an almost-new sofa and chair for their home. The newlyweds moved into Farmersville where he and a brother had bought a service station and Margaret and Edward were invited to attend a Baptist church. Very shortly, both accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior; later, they led that brother and his wife to become Christians.

In January of 1946 a daughter Vickie Dail was born, followed by a son Rickey Lee in August of 1948. Margaret spent her life as a wife, mother, and grandmother. She was a read-aloud artist of books such as The Bobbsey Twins and Bomba, the Jungle Boy. She made sure that the backyard had a sand pile and a swing set. Though shy by nature, she was a cub-scout den mother, PTA president, vacation Bible school and Sunday school teacher. She baked endless cupcakes for class parties, attended ballgames, band concerts, and plays; sewed costumes and prom dresses.

A gifted seamstress, she tailored business suits for her husband and designed and sewed her daughter-in-law’s wedding dress. Edward took a job with Lone Star Gas in 1946 and the family moved to Garland and then later to Fairfield, Groesbeck, Denton, and Paul’s Valley, Okla. Margaret and Edward moved to Palestine from Paul’s Valley in 1978 and were members of First Baptist Church. After Edward retired from Lone Star Gas, they took their travel trailer and traveled the entire United States with Edward’s brothers and their wives. She was at Edward’s bedside when, after a lengthy illness, he died in 1996.

The last two years of her life she resided at Dogwood Trails Assisted Living. Margaret will be remembered through the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Services will be held Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 at 2 p.m. at Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home with the Rev. Jay Abernathy officiating. Pallbearers will be Rickey L. Box Jr., Douglas Box, Everett Box, David Jackson, Jonathan Jackson and Ralph Billings. Honorary pallbearers will be Richard Jackson, great-grandson Kiernan Box, and Charlie Myers.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the First Baptist Church of Palestine Library Fund.