Margaret (Sone) Millsap (1926 - 2015)

Our beautiful and beloved Margaret Millsap was called to her eternal home by the Heavenly Father on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. We are comforted in our loss by the Holy Scripture which says in II Corinthians 5:1, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Margaret Ruth Millsap was 88 and lived in Fort Worth, her home since 1944. Margaret passed away from complications of dementia, yet peacefully at home, in her sleep with family members at her bedside. Margaret Ruth Sone was born Nov. 28, 1926, in Forney, outside Dallas. Young Margaret attended schools in China, where her parents were missionaries. She had her first birthday on a ship to China in 1927, with her missionary parents, spending her childhood in the ancient city of Nanjing, along the Yangtze River. Margaret was able to return to the United States only twice since arriving in China in 1927, in 1933 and again in June 1941. That furlough proved propitious as the attack on Pearl Harbor brought on World War II. This prevented the Sones from returning to China until after the war. Margaret graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago, Ill., in 1943, and left in 1944 to enroll at Texas Wesleyan College in Fort Worth. She met Richard Earl Millsap Jr. at TWC, and they wed in 1945. Richard, like Margaret's father, became a Methodist minister, and eventually retired in 1986 as senior minister at then Overton Park United Methodist Church, now Arborlawn UMC, in Fort Worth. Margaret and Richard were married for 49 years, until his death in 1994 due to complications after open heart surgery. Margaret went back to TWC in 1965, receiving her BA in 1968, and a MA in education from North Texas State in 1978. She taught in the Fort Worth ISD until she retired in 1988. Margaret loved art, painting, writing, including poetry which was published, and gardening. She was passionate about her flowers and yard. She was impeccable about her appearance and attire, always expressing her inner and outer beauty through her clothing and demeanor. In the latter stages of her illness Margaret again revealed her inner self, by expressions of grace and appreciation to all she met. Perhaps though, above all she was a Texas girl who grew up in Southeast Asia, an intensely patriotic American who would see Old Glory and comment on how beautiful it was, waving in the breeze. Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Richard Earl Millsap; parents, Dr. Hubert L. Sone and his wife, Helen Jackson Sone; her brother, C. Forrest Sone of Sebastapol, Calif.; and granddaughter, Melissa Leighanne Dearden of Fort Worth. Survivors: Margaret is survived by her children, Richard of Fort Worth, Mike, who resides in Bee Cave with his wife, Sharon, Margaret Helen and her husband, Dr. Craig Dearden, M.D., and Hubert David Millsap and Carol Boggs, also of Fort Worth. Margaret had 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Service: After a private burial service, Margaret will be laid to rest next to her husband, Richard, in the Covington Cemetery in Covington. On Saturday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m., Margaret Millsap's memorial service will be at Arborlawn United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Ben Disney officiating. The family will receive friends at a reception after the service, in the Lower Commons area at Arborlawn UMC. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Arborlawn United Methodist Church, 5001 Briarhaven Rd., Fort Worth, Texas 76109, 817-731-0701. The family would like to extend profound appreciation to all the friends, neighbors and caregivers who assisted Margaret over the years during her journey.

Published in Star-Telegram on Oct. 2, 2015