Margaret Vivian Prentiss

Marguerite (Margaret) Jones Prentiss departed this life on Monday, August 21, 2017, following a brief illness. She was born on September 12, 1928, to the late Melvin Jones and Ellen Crewe Jones. She was reared by the late George Charity, Jr. and Audrey Bradby Charity from the age of nine until she married. She was preceded in death by her parents; foster parents; husband, Deacon Ruffin Prentiss, Sr.; siblings, Ada, Cora and Alvin Jones; and son-in-law, Lorenzo Crawley. She graduated from Ruthville High School in 1947 and, on September 6, 1947, she married the late Deacon Ruffin Prentiss, Sr. To this union, "two good children" were born. (She always said she had two good children, she knew how she got them but she didn't know where she got them. (Smile). Marguerite joined Gilfield Baptist Church at an early age and later transferred her membership to St. John Baptist Church. She enjoyed attending church and could be found practically every Sunday on her favorite pew just behind the chair given in memory of Ruffin. She worked for many years at Miller Manufacturing Company. Marguerite had a quiet, gentle spirit and was loved by many neighborhood children who called her their "second mom," particularly Rev. Vance Jones and Deacon Timothy Gardner. She enjoyed relatively good health until recently and often told the story of how she had never been hospitalized since giving birth to her son, Ruffin Jr., some 66 years ago. She enjoyed fun times with the Gazebo Girls (Anna Miles, Bernice Miles, Hope Crawley, Princetta Smith and the late Annette Jones, Freda Charity and Arlene Jones). She also enjoyed attending various functions sponsored by the Charles City Committee on the Aging, raking leaves in the yard, and spending time with family and friends. She was noted for her spectacular potato salad and was often found making it for others on special occasions. She leaves to cherish her loving memory her devoted children, JoAnne Crawley Bell (Warren) and Ruffin Prentiss, Jr. (Delcenia); grandsons, Vaughan Crawley (Crystal), Ruffin Prentiss, III (fiancée Carra Patterson), Landon Prentiss (Caitlin); great-grandson, Jordan Crawley; sister, Marian Jones; and a host of other relatives and friends, among them two devoted daughters-at-heart, Geraldine Womack (William) and Hope Crawley (Kenneth Sweeney).

Tributes

Margaret Vivian Prentiss

September 12, 1928 - August 21, 2017