Marjorie M Kent

Marjorie Joy Mitchell was born in 1924 in British Honduras (now Belize). Her Canadian-Dutch parents settled in Tampa in the late 1920s. She joined Riverside Baptist Church in Tampa about 1930 and remained a devoted member for over 60 years. Margie became a naturalized American citizen in 1955. She was married twice at Riverside Church to Arthur Evans McLendon Jr. in 1945, and following his early death, to Elvin Lee Kent in 1956. She raised four children at Riverside who now reside in California, North Carolina, Arizona, and Florida. Margie had nine grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a younger brother and three generations of nieces and nephews. Following the passing of her second husband in 2000 Margie moved from Tampa to Redington Shores, on the Gulf in the St. Petersburg area.

Margie’s church was her life. She served Riverside Baptist Church (now Central Tampa Baptist) in many ways over decades including various levels of the nursery and Sunday School, bereavement committees, choir membership, prayer groups, Bible study, and Vacation Bible School. She prepared and served church dinners prior to Wednesday night prayer meetings, and was especially dedicated to visiting sick, hospitalized, and infirm members. She supported Baptist Foreign Missions, taking great interest in their work and experiences. Her singular dedication resulted in many life-long friendships. Margie’s special passion was decorating for church functions such as weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, holiday events - especially Christmas and Easter - and any other need that required her special touches. She had a vision of how everything should look, and was always there to make it happen, just so.

Margie was also an artist in her own right. For decades she enjoyed sketching, oil painting, and work in pastels, and especially liked doing nature scenes and floral arrangements filled with color. Yet another reflection of her amazing creativity was her talent as a seamstress. Self-taught, Margie made clothes for her children, including a bridal gown and bridesmaids’ dresses. Margie was also fascinated by family genealogy and over many years she joined local and national associations and painstakingly documented the ancestral lines of her parents and both husbands.

In 2010 Margie moved to Lake Seminole Square, a large retirement community in Seminole, Florida, positioning herself on the water where her apartment had a view of sunrise over Lake Seminole. The community also had a dock, lakeside garden areas, and numerous porches for enjoying many species of water birds and expansive lake vistas. Margie loved to be outside and in recent years many in her community knew her as “the lady who sits outside in the sunshine.”

After a long search Margie joined nearby Bay Ridge Baptist Church and attended weekly until 2016. She made many new friends at Bay Ridge and continued her devoted interest in decorating for church functions. Family members frequently accompanied her to Bay Ridge (now Calvary Church Seminole), an essential part of family visits until recently as she became unable to attend. Margie, 95 years old, was a devoted Christian for nine decades. She is dearly loved by many.

Margie’s gifts were numerous: a steadfast faith, devotion to family, a keen eye for beauty in the arrangement of things, rock-solid determination, and ever-present kindness to everyone, all of which were deeply interwoven into her many days. Margie was a remarkable lady, and she lived a remarkable life, giving of herself endlessly with great dignity. She continues in each of us.

In lieu of flowers consider a donation to Suncoast Hospice, online at https://suncoasthospice.org/online-donations/ or telephone (727) 467-7423.