Margaret Lillian Holmes McConnell

Raleigh, N.C. – Margaret McConnell, 89, of Cary – formerly of Wilkesboro and Wilmington, N.C. – died peacefully on March 17, 2019.  Born in Wilmington on July 12, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Clayton Carr Holmes, Sr. and Lillian Pridgen Holmes.

Margaret graduated from New Hanover High School and the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now UNC-Greensboro).  She and her husband, the late Benedict Yates McConnell, began their 55-year life together in Charleston, S.C.  Margaret and Yates raised four sons in Charleston, Charlotte, and Rockingham, N.C., and Greenville, S.C.  She taught elementary school, sang in a women’s barbershop chorus, worshipped and served in her local Presbyterian churches, and volunteered with Meals on Wheels and with several local humane societies – one of which (Humane Society of Wilkes) she helped establish.

Her greatest joy, however, was her large, loving and much-loved family, and she will be missed greatly by them all.

Margaret is survived by son Franklin Y. McConnell and his wife, Zia, of Brevard, N.C.; son F. Lee McConnell and his wife, Charlotte, of Wilkesboro, N.C.; son Alan H. McConnell and his wife, Sharon, of Apex, N.C.; son Clayton R. McConnell and his wife, Libby, of Reston, Va.; grandchildren Katie (Robert) Weinbach, Ian, Anna, Austin, Brighton, Clare Beth, Yates, and Forrest McConnell; and great grandchildren Lucas and Reagan Weinbach.

Also surviving are Margaret’s sister, Beatrice Holmes (E. Chester) Watts of Decatur, Ga. and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, Margaret was preceded in death by her brothers, Clayton Carr Holmes, Jr. and Frederick William Holmes.

A memorial service will be held at 2pm, Sunday, August 4, 2019, at Little Chapel on the Boardwalk, 2 Fayetteville St. W., Wrightsville Beach, NC.

A graveside service will follow at 4pm, Sunday, August 4, 2019, at Oakdale Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Wilkes, attn: The Buffie Fund, P.O. Box 306, N. Wilkesboro, NC  28659.