Margaret Rainey Rembert

Margaret Rainey Rembert, 86, of Columbia, South Carolina, died on October 12, 2023. A native of Greenville, South Carolina, she was the daughter of Floyd Dean Rainey and Margaret Rose Rainey. She attended Greenville public schools and was a member of Christ Church throughout her youth.

Margaret attended St. Mary’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina for one year and then transferred to the University of South Carolina, where she majored in English and was president of her sorority, Kappa Delta. While at Carolina, she met David Hopkins Rembert, Jr. at a Beaux Arts party. They graduated together in the Class of 1959 were married in 1960 at Christ Church in Greenville, a marriage that would last 63 years.

Soon after their wedding, the young couple moved to Clovis, New Mexico, as David’s Air National Guard Unit was activated in the wake of the Berlin Wall Crisis. Margaret gave birth to their first child, Margaret Rainey Rembert, in 1962, at the base hospital in Clovis. They soon returned to Columbia, where Margaret went to work at Blue Cross/Blue Shield while David pursued his master’s degree at Carolina. They shortly moved again, this time to Lexington, Kentucky, where Margaret gave birth to their second child, Augusta Porcher Rembert. After David earned his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Kentucky, the couple returned to Columbia in 1967 for David to accept a position as a professor at Carolina. Within a year, they had purchased a home at 1710 Hollywood Drive, where they would reside for the next 40 years. Their third child, Llewellyn Bamberg Rembert, was born in 1969, and David Hopkins Rembert III followed in 1971.

Margaret was a devoted wife and a remarkable mother. She was exquisitely smart and provided her children with an extraordinary example of self-discipline, fortitude, and savoir-faire throughout their lives. Her household was simultaneously welcoming, warm, and a very efficient machine. She was a master gardener, and the yard surrounding the Rembert home was a delightful refuge for her family and their guests for many decades. She enjoyed playing tennis, spending time at Pawleys Island and Saluda, North Carolina, and travelling abroad. Margaret and David fondly remembered trips to Greece, China, and the nine months they spent in England while David was on sabbatical.

Margaret was a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral for over 50 years, where she faithfully served in many capacities. She was a lifelong learner and enjoyed her affiliations with the Thursday Study Club, the New Century Club, and the Junior League Book Club where she was known among her peers for devouring every available resource about a particular topic and then delivering an enthralling presentation to her audience, all without the first note in hand.

Margaret is survived by her husband, David; her children, Rainey Woodward (Ben), Augusta Rembert, Llewellyn Shealy (Kirby), and David Rembert (Laura); grandchildren, Emma Bamberg Shealy, David Barnwell Shealy, Margaret Rainey Greene, Thomas Boyce Greene, Mary Wyman Woodward, David Hopkins Rembert IV, and William Lawson Rembert. She is also survived by her brother, Floyd Dean Rainey (Ivey) of Greenville; brother-in-law, James Aldrich Wyman Rembert (Celia) of Charleston as well as eight nephews, Dean Rainey (Liz), Chres Rainey (Katie), John Rainey, Blake Edmunds (Ashley), Weston Edmunds (Kathryn), Dave Edmunds (Holly), Wyman Rembert, and Andre Rembert.

Margaret was blessed with a biting wit and a creative spirit. She was beloved by her family and her many friends and will be sorely missed by all of them.

Family and friends are welcome to gather at the home of Kirby and Llewellyn Shealy, 500 Kalmia Drive on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The graveside service will be at Elmwood Cemetery on Thursday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m. The family would like to express its profound thanks to the staff at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community for its loving care for Margaret during her final illness. Memorials may be sent to Still Hopes Retirement Community, the Trinity Foundation or to the charity of one’s choice.