Margie Juanita Jones Davidson was born January 10, 1927. A determined tomboy, she lived in overalls and learned to swim in the ditch beside her house. She ate cold biscuits with blades of garlic plucked from the garden and climbed ladders to the top of the oil tanks to play on the walkway that went around the top. As ideal as it sounds, her childhood was anything but easy. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she didn't meet her father until she was eleven. Living in Oklahoma during the Depression made things even tougher. During the worst of the times, she, her mother Effie, and her brother Charles survived for weeks on a large gunnysack of yellow onions someone gave them. It says something about her practical nature that Margie still enjoyed the taste of onions even as an adult. Margie was fifteen when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and she distinctly remembered sitting in her typing class when the announcement came over the loudspeaker. When the factories began hiring women, she got a job at the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Midway helping to build C-47 planes. When the war was over the women in the factory were fired, so Margie and a girlfriend decided to travel. They drove from Oklahoma to California, worked for awhile, and then took a trip to New York to live for a bit. She worked as general manager for a dry-cleaning store, learned to shuck fresh oysters, traveled the city, and attended vaudeville and Broadway shows. After three months and low wages, Margie returned to Oklahoma. She found a job with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and went dancing with her friends for fun. It was there she met her future husband, John Abriant Davidson. A tall, handsome red-head a polite manner, the two dated for 10 months and discussed marriage many times. When they finally decided to tie the knot, they planned it for the following week. The wedding supper consisted of "Oklahoma round steak dinner" (bologna sandwiches) and the honeymoon was a weekend in John's sister's house. Their marriage survived 51 and a half years and ended when John passed away in June of 2001. She is survived by her four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grand children. When John's job moved them to Georgia the two of them joined St. Anne's Episcopal church. Margie learned to play the violin and fell in love with the south. John's job continued to move them around, from Florida to another section of Georgia, and finally back to California. Margie found a job with General Telephone, working as an operator before being retiring as a supervisor in the Traffic Observing department. After retiring, Margie and John enjoyed visiting the races to bet on the horses. Margie's biggest win was the year she retired--- she played the first six digits of her mother's telephone number on a "Pick Six" and won over $24,000.

Margie and John made the move to Taft in 1982. When John passed away, Margie began attending St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Over the years she served many roles: choir member, Lector, ECW President, Altar Guild Directress, Bishop's Committee member, Jr. Warden, and the Diocesan Honored woman from St. Andrew's. Margie was honest, straightforward, and loyal. If she felt there was an issue to address, she would meet the problem head-on and find a solution. A dependable person you could lean on, she held herself to extremely high standards. If she felt she had done someone wrong, she would seek them out and apologize immediately. She had a no-nonsense way about her. If something needed to be done, she did it, and didn't waste any time procrastinating. She "dabbled" (her words) in oil painting, creating dozens of beautiful works that hang in many different homes. She was a fantastic cook and could make incredibly delicious meals out of simple ingredients. One year, when Christmas grocery shopping had accidentally been postponed until after the stores were closed, she headed down to the corner store and created a "chili spaghetti" that her family still talks about to this day. She loved music (especially stringed instruments), had a dry sense of humor and a love of laughter. She was intelligent and trustworthy. After struggling with a heart condition for a few months, Margie went in for some testing and was diagnosed with leukemia. She passed away in her home 2 weeks later on August 25, 2010, surrounded by loved ones. Services will be held at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Friday, September 2, 2010. at 11:00 A.M. Friends are invited to pay their respects on Thursday from 3:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. at the Erickson & Brown Funeral Home.

(Source: Obituary)