Margaret Lackey

Annie Margaret Misenheimer Lackey (Margaret), age 97, died on November 27, 2024 after suffering a fractured femur that resulted in several health challenges. She was born in Concord, North Carolina where she lived until age 93. In October 2020, she and her late husband, Leon Rankin Lackey, moved to Decatur, Georgia to be closer to family.

A graveside service to celebrate Margaret's life is scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 3:00pm in Reta's Garden and Columbarium of Central United Methodist Church in Concord, North Carolina. Her ashes will be interred next to those of her late husband. Pastor Tom Latimer will officiate. The family will receive friends following the service in the church narthex.

Margaret was possibly the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's most avid and loyal sports fan, never missing a football or basketball game when her Tar Heels were playing. She loved going in person to Kenan Stadium with her daughter, Lee Anne, well into her 80s. When this was no longer feasible, she simply pulled her chair up in front of the TV so she could "coach' the team from home. At 95, Margaret went and welcomed the UNC football team at their hotel when they came to play in Atlanta. She cherished meeting Coach Mack Brown who introduced her to his wife Sally. She also took the opportunity to hug quarterback Sam Howell and advise him to please beat Georgia Tech the next day. (Apparently, he did not hear her as the Heels lost.)

Margaret's family considered her one of the best southern cooks and loved it when she made their favorite fried chicken for dinner along with loads of vegetables from Leon's garden. She passed this talent on to her daughter, Kim. Margaret ("Nana") was happiest when she spent time with her three beloved grandchildren, Jonathan, Josh, and Nancy and was a big part of their lives as they grew up nearby in Troy, North Carolina.

Margaret loved Concord's Central United Methodist Church where she was a member for many years. She attended Ellen Pemberton's Sunday School Class, was a member of Coltrane Jones Circle and served as a member of the church's altar guild. After moving to Georgia, she mastered using an iPad at 93 so she could continue to watch their worship services each Sunday. She was a lifetime member of United Methodist Women's Club (Mt. Olivet Methodist Church), a former member of Reviews Book Club, volunteered at Cabarrus Memorial Hospital (Pink Pinafores) and drove for Meals on Wheels. She graduated from Concord High School in 1946 and from Kings Business College in Charlotte.

Margaret was born on July 10, 1927, in Concord, North Carolina to Lillie Talbert Misenheimer and Joseph Pickney Misenheimer. She is preceded in death by her husband of 74 years, Leon Rankin Lackey, her parents, her brother Gene Misenheimer, brothers-in-law Olen Morgan, Ray Washam and A.C. Farris and sisters-in-law Sarah Misenheimer and Mildred Misenheimer.

Margaret is survived by her sisters Betty Morgan, Janie Washam and Nancy Farris, her brother Joe Misenheimer, Jr., daughter Kimberly Craig Ellis, daughter Lee Anne Lackey and her wife, Cathy T. Rambach, grandson Jonathan Reese Ellis and his fiancée Jasmyn Nicholas, grandson Joshua Craig Ellis and his wife, Ariana Vetrano Ellis, great granddaughter Olivia Reade Ellis, great grandson Luca Joseph Ellis, granddaughter Nancy Reade Ellis Combs and her husband Russell Robert Combs. Margaret and Leon had many nephews and nieces and they loved all of them and their families dearly.

The family would like to recognize and sincerely thank the staff at the Holbrook Decatur, Trinity Life at Home and Accent Care Home Health for their loving care and support. We also enthusiastically want to thank all the doctors and nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia who provided excellent and compassionate care to Margaret over the last several months.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Central United Methodist Church, 30 Union Street, North, Concord, NC 28025.