Published: September 08, 2008 11:13 pm      

Margaret Elizabeth Sutton Jorgensen

Margaret Elizabeth Sutton Jorgensen died peacefully on Sept. 6, 2008, in Twilight Home, just short of her 87th birthday.

She was the first child of Modena McAfee and James Ross Sutton, born into the fourth generation of the McAfee clan to live in the Corsicana area. She had two beloved younger siblings, Mary Ellen and James Ross Jr. Their family grew up in the house at 2212 N. Beaton St., which was built by her father, and which still stands. Margaret was also blessed with 13 aunts and uncles and a multitude of cousins. Her grandmother, Minnie Bruner Sutton, a musician and a Corsicana piano and violin teacher, adored Margaret and tutored her in piano throughout her childhood. As a result, Margaret developed a deep love of classical music. Margaret was raised in First Methodist Church of Corsicana, where her family considered themselves founding members.

A 1939 graduate of Corsicana High School, Margaret first attended the University of Texas at Austin in September of that year. She was among the second generation of McAfee women to attend U.T. in Austin. She was a vibrant, spirited, beautiful, and intelligent young woman who was drawn to continuing her musical studies, but also to the study of government and law. She always remained proud of having worked her way through college.

World War II interrupted her education, and Margaret returned to Corsicana to work at Air Activities of Texas, where the Army Air Force trained cadets. She always valued the opportunity she was given to be so actively involved in the war effort, and she kept a scrapbook recording the goings-on at the air base. At one point she appeared as the honored “Girl of the Week” in the Air Activities newsletter.

In January of 1948 Margaret married Donald W. Jorgensen, a student of physics at the University of Texas. She at last graduated from the University of Texas in 1949, the proud possessor of a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, with a minor in government. In February of that year her daughter and only child, Julia Carolyn, was born in Corsicana.

Unfortunately, Margaret and Donald divorced after a short marriage, and Margaret became a single working mother at a time when such situations were even more difficult than they are today. For most of her adult life she was a social worker for the State of Texas in Tyler and Corsicana, although she also directed the social services at Twilight Home for several years. She also cared for both of her parents in their later years.

As she neared retirement, she took a great financial risk and started a small business based on a long-held dream: she loved the small arts and crafts she had often seen her clients and friends creating, in particular beautiful quilts, and she opened a store in Corsicana where these artists could show and sell their work to the public. She also made quilts for her family. Unfortunately her business plan failed, but she was then fortunate to find employment as a legal assistant in the law offices of Means and Means. There she was able to learn more about the law, another lifelong interest, and she found kind and enduring friends in her employers.

Throughout her adult life Margaret was also involved in a variety of charitable organizations and activities, serving in positions with the Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Navarro County Cancer Society, the Pan American Roundtable, and the Altrusa Club. As an Altrusa Club volunteer, she spent many years organizing and working in the Meals On Wheels program. After retiring she taught for several years in the GED and English as a Second Language programs at Navarro College, where she found several treasured friends for life among her students. Over the years she won several awards for her community service, including an award from the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Navarro College.

After retiring she also fulfilled some long-deferred travel dreams. In addition to trips to West Texas, Vancouver, New York City, and Yellowstone National Park, she accompanied her friend, Eleanor Page, an Austin music professor, on a musical tour of European cathedrals.

Following the deaths of her sister and brother, Margaret entered Twilight Home, a place that had always been dear to her. In the last several years she continued to enjoy reading American history, keeping up with current events, and visiting with the many friends who so often stopped in to see her. She also wrote a family history for her daughter, and interviewed another resident in hopes of writing his biography. She loved the staff at Twilight Home and greatly appreciated the unflagging kindness they showed her.

Margaret always guided her life by the principle of Christian charity, and she cared deeply about the happiness of others and the well-being of the poor and the elderly in her community. She gave her daughter every advantage she imagined a child could need, and she always had time in her busy life for sharing the joys of music, books, homemaking, nature, and philosophy with her daughter. Her successes as a mother, a professional social worker, a community volunteer, and a neighbor were exceptional, and she will be missed by all who knew her.

Margaret leaves behind her daughter, Julia Carolyn Jorgensen, a professor at Springfield College in Houston, a son-in-law, Paul Saka, and two nephews, Charles Otto Heye of Centennial, Colo., and Frank Eric Heye of Woodinville, Wash.

Memorial gifts to Twilight Home or to Meals On Wheels would be greatly appreciated by Margaret’s family.

No services are planned.

An online guest book is available at www.corleyfuneralhome.com by selecting the Margaret Elizabeth Sutton Jorgensen obituary.

Arrangements by Corley Funeral Home. ∞