MARGARET BAILEY WHITEHURST

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2015

 MARGARET BAILEY WHITEHURST

June 9, 2015

Mrs. Margaret Bailey Whitehurst, 86, passed away Tuesday, June 9, 2015.

The funeral service will be conducted Friday at 2 PM in the Wilkerson Funeral Chapel, officiated by her pastor, the Rev. Bill Neely. Burial will follow in Pinewood Memorial Park.

Mrs. Whitehurst, daughter of the late John James and Ruth Bailey Whitehurst, was a native of Edgecombe County and a graduate of Tarboro High School. She married James Ray Whitehurst on July 2, 1949. They were together for 48 years prior to his death in 1997. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehurst made their home in Greenville in 1956 where she was employed with Carolina Telephone for 42 years, retiring in 1989. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where she had taught Sunday school and volunteered in various ministries through the years. Mrs. Whitehurst loved working in her yard, caring for her flowers and plants. She also enjoyed crossword puzzles and collecting frogs.

In addition to her husband and parents Mrs. Whitehurst was also preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Josephine Bailey and four brothers, John James Bailey, Jr., William Henry Bailey, Thomas Spencer Bailey and Bobby Burns Bailey.

She is survived by: a daughter, Beth Whitehurst Beddard of Greenville; granddaughter, Alison Respass and husband, Billy, and grandson, Adam Baker and wife, Jenny, all of Washington; great-grandchildren, Avery Respass, Dustin Johnson, Kipton Respass, Keegan Baker and one on the way, Kaylei Baker; sisters, Jean Boyd of New Bern and Peggy Owen and husband, Billy, of Clinton; lifelong friends, Robert and Betsy Briley; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends Thursday from 6 to 8 PM at Wilkerson Funeral Home and other times will be at the home of her granddaughter, Alison and Billy Respass, in Washington.

Memorials may be made to the Presbyterian Women’s Scholarship at First Presbyterian Church, 1400 S. Elm Street, Greenville, NC 27858.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com