Born September 17, 1932 in Jasper, Florida, she was the daughter of the late Russell Isaac Nolen and Grace Register Nolen.
Margaret O’Kelley is known to her family and friends as a fun, loving, positive woman who loved to sing, perform, write poems and especially loved to play (and win) at golf and bridge. She met her husband, Pat, in high school and asked him to their first dance. They married as juniors in college and graduated together from the University of Florida. Margaret raised three daughters full time until the youngest was in school where she returned to teaching as the director of Wonderland Nursery School in Los Angeles, Ca.
She was an active member of United First Methodist Church of Hollywood where she met life long friends. She was a member of the Sepulveda Women’s Golf Club in California and played bridge with the same women’s bridge club for more than 25 years. She moved to Rock Barn in Conover, NC in 1997 and joined their women’s golf organization as well as 2 bridge clubs shortly after arriving.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Frank Patrick O’Kelley; sisters, Dorothy Templeton and Barbara Cline.
Left to cherish her memory are daughters, Kathleen O’Kelley Hoogerhuis and husband, Peter, Kim O’Kelley-Leigh and husband, Randal, Katie O’Kelley-Hendricks and husband, Bill; grandchildren, Mara Hoogerhuis, Kyla Grace Leigh, Giovanni Patrick; sister, Virginia Brooks; brother-in-law, James W. O’Kelley; nephew, Jon Michael O’Kelley and their families with many other nieces and nephews.
Margaret’s life was full of love and laughter. It just doesn’t get better than that.
A Service of Remembrance will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at First United Methodist Church in Conover with Rev. Dr. Gary Royals officiating.
Her family will receive friends after the Service at Rock Barn Ball Room in Conover.
Flowers may be sent to Drum Funeral Home & Cremations at 509 First Avenue South, Conover, NC 28613 or Memorials may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, the American Stroke Association, or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Condolences may be sent to the O’Kelley family at www.drumfh-conover.com.
The O’Kelley family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Drum Funeral Home & Cremations in Conover, NC.
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