Margie was born June 22, 1946 to Alice Smith Hall and Bert Hall. Margie lived most of her life in Tampa. She worked several jobs and her last job for the past seventeen years was with The Moffitt Cancer Center.
In January 2001 Margie was hired at the Moffitt Cancer Center as a Patient Greeter and Facilitator. Over these seventeen years, her outgoing and caring personality became the welcoming face of Moffitt. She cheered and helped hundreds of cancer patients over this period of time. In 2009, she was voted by the Moffitt management the “award of excellence”. She loved the employees at Moffitt and they became an integral part of Margie’s family life.
Margie experienced two serious surgeries during her life. She had colorectal cancer that resulted in her requiring a colostomy bag for the rest of her life. Later, while employed at Moffitt, she had an aneurism in her brain that was removed. Both of these surgeries were successful. All of this experience gave her greater insight into the trauma experienced by cancer patients. Her empathy with the patients was real and heart felt. The Moffitt human resource office featured Margie as a spokesperson on at least one local TV program, and she became the spokesperson for colorectal cancer screening within the Moffitt community.
We learned a great deal about Margie thru her personal friends and related Facebook postings. Some of what we learned about her is what follows. Over her seventeen years at Moffitt Margie made positive and dramatic contributions to the flow of patients thru the Moffitt doors. Margie loved everyone she greeted. It didn’t matter what their age, their illness, or whether they were there as a patient, family member or friend, she loved them all; and she demonstrated her love thru her hugs, her words, and her body language. To her, they were all “Honey”, “Baby”, “Sugar” or any other term of endearment that came to mind. There was not a discriminatory bone in her body.
We also believe that the worth of one’s character is measured by the trial of adversity. Throughout Margie’s life she dealt with adversity with the same outgoing embrace with which she greeted the hundreds of patients who crossed the Moffitt Threshold. I believe that most of us wish to know that we have served a cause that is larger than ourselves. Margie has indeed served a larger cause than herself in this life. When Margie crossed into eternity Friday, May 11, 2018, and met God, I suspect, she threw her arms around God, called God “Honey”, and said, “What can I do to help here in heaven”.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Bert Hall and Alice Hall-Sticksel. Margie is survived by her husband of 20 years, Bill Schwerdt, her children; Michael McBryer (Kathy), Tammi Schwerdt, Bret Schwerdt (Iris), Barry Schwerdt (Robyn) and Heidi Turner (Steve), brothers; Lincoln Hall (Lillian), and Norman Hall (Eileen), grandchildren Keifer and Kelly, brother in law, Dan Ryll (Jill), and many other grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.
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