Margaret Jacoway Stocker

Margaret Jacoway Stocker passed away Wednesday, May 14, 2003, in Fort Worth, surrounded by her children.

Funeral: 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, The Rev. Stanley Manekis officiating. The family will receive friends after the service in Moncrief Hall. Burial: Private family interment in Greenwood Memorial Park. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Thompson's Harveson & Cole Funeral Home.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 917 Lamar St., Fort Worth, Texas 76102, Cook Children's Medical Center, 801 Seventh Ave., Fort Worth, Texas, Child Study Center, 1300 W. Lancaster, Fort Worth, Texas 76102, or the charity of your choice.

Born in Washington, D.C. to the Honorable Henderson Madison Jacoway Jr., congressman from Arkansas, and Margaret Cooper Jacoway, daughter of Texas congressman Sam Bronson Cooper, Margaret Jacoway Stocker spent the first four years of her life in Washington, D.C. and then grew up in Little Rock. Margaret attended Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, graduating with honors in English and French. While in college she served the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity as chapter president, and then she attended the University of Arkansas School of Law for one year. Returning to Little Rock, she inaugurated a life-long career of community service when she joined the Junior League of Little Rock. She also followed in her mother's footsteps by serving as president of the Aesthetic Club, which is frequently described as the oldest culture club for ladies west of the Mississippi River.

In 1948 Margaret married Edward Eugene Stocker after his release from the Navy. During the Korean conflict, the young couple moved to San Diego where Ed served his second tour of duty, and Margaret continued her volunteer work at the Red Cross. In 1956, the Stockers moved to Fort Worth, which has been her home ever since, but her love of Little Rock and Arkansas led her for many years to be one of the few Fort Worth residents to subscribe to the Arkansas Gazette.

Devoted to her husband and three children, Margaret followed the traditional pattern of a public spirited Southern woman, remaining active in the Junior League, the Red Cross, and other organizations while setting an example for her children as a Cub Scout den mother, a Blue Bird Leader and president of the North High Mount PTA. She served the children of the wider community as president of the Child Study Center Auxiliary and as a member of the Jewel Charity Ball benefiting Cook Children's Medical Center. Other memberships include the Assembly, the Fort Worth Club, River Crest Country Club, Dinner Dance Club, Garden Club, National Society of Colonial Dames and the Texas Daughters of the American Revolution.

Active in the First United Methodist Church downtown, she taught vacation Bible school for many years and the Mary Martha class in the 60's and 70's. She was also a member of the Ray Reimer Bible Class. Devoted to the heritage and traditions of her family, Margaret took great pride in the knowledge that her forebears established the first Methodist and oldest Protestant Church in Texas, McMahon Chapel in San Augustine.

Margaret's love of culture and the arts, combined with her quick wit and ease of public speaking, led her to being a docent at the Amon Carter Museum for several years and at the Kimbell Art Museum for over 15 years. Always a student, Margaret relished the trips she and Ed were able to take in Europe and England, both for pleasure and to further her art history education. She especially enjoyed the trip that she and other docents made in 1974 to visit and study the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Margaret was active in the early years of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, and she employed her flair for public speaking as a member of the Lecture Foundation and the Wednesday Club.

Mrs. Stocker's carefully balanced career of community service never came before family. Embracing her tasks and responsibilities with complete dedication and thoroughness, she lived by the Blue Bird Motto she had taught her troop: "I will finish what I begin." Continuing to the end to teach by example, she faced the challenges and adversities of advancing age with true courage, demonstrating incredible stamina and facing escalating difficulties without complaint. She finished the good life she began like a lady and with courage and dignity. All who knew her were touched and enriched by her example.

Honorary Pallbearers: Jimmy Blanton, Gary Cole, Larry Eason, Jim English, Ben Gunn, Jim Murray, Tom Purvis, Alan Roberts, Earl Shields, John M. Stevenson, Charlie Webster, and Frank Wilson.

Margaret leaves behind her loving family, devoted friends, faithful Bridge Group and special friends Annie Mae Thomas and Gladys Greene. The family wishes to thank the compassionate staff of Trinity Terrace and VITAS Hospice.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, Edward Eugene Stocker, parents Honorable Henderson Madison Jacoway, Jr. and Margaret Cooper Jacoway, brothers Henderson Madison Jacoway, III and Bronson Cooper Jacoway.

Survivors: She is survived by her children and their spouses, Edward Eugene Stocker, Jr. (Ned) and Marci McKnight Stocker, Bronson Jacoway Stocker and Lynn McIlhenny Stocker, Margaret Stocker Diebel(Peggy) and Walter Craig Diebel and grandchildren, Willis Edward Diebel, Gretchen Elizabeth Diebel, Edward McIlhenny Stocker, Henderson Jacoway Stocker, niece, Elizabeth Jacoway Watson, nephews, Bronson Cooper Jacoway Jr. and Madison Doak Jacoway; and sister-in-law, Daisy Tribble Jacoway.