Funeral services for Margaret Elizabeth Fitzgerald will be held on Monday, January 15, 2018, at 2:00 P.M. at the First Baptist Church, Palestine, Texas with Rev. Tony Watson, Rev. Bill Connally, and Rev. Jimmie Adams officiating. Burial will follow in Palestine City Cemetery. Arrangements have been entrusted to Bailey & Foster Funeral Home. Miss Fitzgerald passed away at Cartmell Home for Aged on January 11, 2018. Miss Fitzgerald was born November 11, 1918 in Palestine, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Boyd and Fannie Elizabeth Fitzgerald, brothers, Elmer, Roy and Maurice Fitzgerald and sisters, Ollie Waggoner, Eudell Seymour, Thelma Connally, Jewel Seeliger, and Julia Fitzgerald. She is survived by nephews, Frank Waggoner and wife Evelyn, Bill Connally and wife Vera Dale, and Donald Earl Seymour and niece Geraldene Adams and husband Jimmie. She is also survived by several great nieces and nephews, whom she loved very much. Margaret graduated from Palestine High School, Lon Morris College and Baylor University with her Bachelor and Master degrees. She began her teaching career at Jacksonville and also taught English for three years in Sao-Paulo, Brazil. The majority of her career in public schools was with the Palestine Independent School District where she taught English and Public Speaking and was a counselor at the high school. She retired in 1989. She was a beloved teacher and counselor to hundreds of students for many years. Miss Fitzgerald was active in First Baptist Church serving as a Bible teacher and a member of the Woman’s Missionary Union for over 61 years. She accepted her Savior and was baptized on August 19, 1928 in the First Baptist Church, Palestine. Visitation will be held 1 hour prior to service . Pallbearers will be Ricky Naismith, David Ritchey, Willie Langston, and Steve Jenkins. Honorary pallbearers will be Raymond Rogers, Jerry Mitchell, Bob Metteauer, Todd Staples and Rev. Jay Abernathy. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, Palestine, Lottie Moon Mission Offering or the Palestine High School Scholarship Fund, c/o Elizabeth Wilson, 1007 E. Park Ave. Palestine, TX. 75801. The family would like to thank the staff of Cartmell Home for Aged and Heart to Heart Hospice for the care given to her and to Mr. & Mrs. Rick Naismith for taking her to church for as long as she was able to attend.
(Courtesy of Bailey & Foster Funeral Home)