The angels in heaven are rejoicing as Margaret Virginia Beemer Rucker passed away peacefully, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, with her family by her side, and was welcomed by her Heavenly Father where her family one day will join her and the saints gone on before them.
She was the wife of the late Rodney J. Rucker and the daughter of the late Theodore Roosevelt Beemer and Nora Elizabeth Pruitt Beemer. She was preceded in death by two sisters and four brothers. She loved the Lord with all her heart and was always wanting to help others and help spread the love of Jesus. She was a member of Covington Church of God growing up and was a faithful member of Warwick Assembly of God in Hampton, where she attended until her health kept her from doing so, but fellowshipped with Jesus each day in the privacy of her own home.
Margaret was born in Roanoke, Virginia, November 5, 1929 and was formerly a resident of Covington and a resident of York County for 58 years. Her last two years were spent in Gloucester. She was employed at M.H. Fishmans, as a short order cook at a Greek restaurant in Covington and J.J. Newberry, Roses at Wards Corner and Smalls Hardware in Norfolk. In 1951, she began working at S.W. Holt and A.B. Abbitt Wholesale Grocers as a bookkeeper in Newport News. Her hobbies included sewing, gardening, yard sales, thrift stores, playing checkers, doing crafts with her granddaughter, Beverly, and watching the birds at her feeders.
She leaves to cherish her memories two daughters; Lisa Michelle Davis (Joe) of Seaford and Lynn Rucker Holt (Robert) of Gloucester; three granddaughters, Amanda Elizabeth Halliburton (Gray) of Georgia, Beverly Lynn Potter (Bill) and Tracy Leigh Stippel (David) of Gloucester, and three great-grandsons, Christopher Alan Potter (Adriana) of Gloucester, Pearce Hudson Lee Stippel and Walker Lyle Stippel Jr. of Gloucester.
She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and mother-in-law. She loved all her family very much, as they did her. She looked forward to their visits.
Margaret worked hard all of her life and sacrificed everything for her family. She and Rodney delivered newspapers for seven and one-half years as an extra job just so they could pay to have an addition added onto their home. When Rodney became ill, she cared for him for 18 months and never left his side.
Traditions meant a lot to her and some of those included going to see the Christmas lights in the local area with her daughter, Lisa and granddaughter, Amanda each year for some quality girl time. She always asked “how much do you think their light bill is going to run for all those lights?” She also enjoyed spending time in Yorktown with her daughter, Lynn, riding down the tour roads to count how many turtles they could see out on the logs in the water. After the tour roads, it was time to grab some fast food to eat while sitting by the beach to people watch.
Her granddaughter, Beverly, met her at the McDonalds in Yorktown for lunch on Thursdays. She really enjoyed that time. It was great memory-making for both of them.
Thanksgiving and Christmas were also favorite times for her. She loved seeing all the family.
Mom loved her home in Yorktown, along with her beautiful flower gardens, and spoke about them often. At 94, she said in her own words that she was a “tough old bird.” She had a great sense of humor and never knew a stranger. She was always saying “I don’t have any complaints with anyone or anything. I love everybody.”
Margaret showed Jesus’s love to children around the world by helping to fill, wrap and send shoeboxes through Operation Christmas Child with Newington Baptist Church (where her daughter Lynn’s family attends). This had become an annual tradition.
The family received friends on Sunday from 2-4 pm at Amory Funeral Home in Grafton. A funeral service was held at 11 a.m. Monday in the chapel at Amory Funeral Home with Glenn Jones officiating. Burial followed at Peninsula Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Operation Christmas Child: https://fundraise.samaritanspurse.org/fundraiser/5799484
Her family wishes to thank everyone for their prayers and visits over the last two years.
They would also like to thank Riverside Hospice of Gloucester and Commonwealth of Virginia Gloucester House. Arrangements by Amory Funeral Home, Grafton, Va.