Margaret Mary McKinney

She was born in Washington, D.C. on July 5, 1933 to Dr. William G. Workman and Mary Virginia Miller.

Margaret met the father of her children, Douglas Wayne McKinney, when she was just fourteen. Wayne, as the family called him, was en route to Germany with the US Army from his home in Chokoloskee, Florida. They carried on a long-distance romance by mail across the Atlantic.

Upon his return, Wayne enlisted his brother Donald, and sister Leola, to accompany him on a trip back to Washington from Florida. When one of Maggie's sorority sisters called her to the door, she found the three, Wayne in a suit and carrying a bouquet. She asked, "What are you doing here?". He replied, "I'm here to marry you".

They eloped to Frederick, Maryland, on March 28, 1953 and remained together until Wayne's death in 2002. Daughter Rosemary was born in Washington in 1954. They traveled extensively in the Western United States for several years, raising their daughter along the way. Son Steven was born in Royal Oak, Michigan in 1965, thence to Margate, Florida so that he could grow up in one place instead of many.

Her most cherished possession was a copy of the Combined Edition of Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry, copyright 1942. Wayne had stolen it from his GED classroom in Germany.

Margaret loved her work as a medical transcriptionist and was still working part-time when she died, fit in body and in mind. She loved medicine. She had a passion for cats all her life, and for Steven's little "doggies" towards the end.

She adored Mikhail Barishnikov and detested Donald Trump.

She loved science and the arts, classical music and the blues, crossword puzzles and the English language. She took pleasure in museums and movies, politics and current events, and good food and drink.

She arose each day before Steven in order to get abreast of Trump's latest calumnies. She would then pepper Steven with these fresh insults from the White House, jabbing her finger in the air and venting her outrage all the while.

Beloved mother of Rosemary Margaret McKinney (Samuel Bell) and Steven, and grandmother of Donovan McKinney-Bell. Also survived by friend and sister-in-law Gloria Theresa Pickle and her three children. Predeceased by her brother, William G. Workman, Jr.

She will be dearly missed. Service will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Margaret McKinney Memorial, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, (800) 822-6344