Margaret "Susie" Rochelle (Jernigan) Williams

Margaret Rochelle “Susie” Jernigan Williams, 84, of Newton Grove, passed away on Sunday, August 29, 2021, surrounded by her loving family.  Known to most as “Susie”, she touched many lives through her love of others and by simply doing for and giving to them.

Margaret is proceded in death by her mother, Sallie Capps Jernigan; her father, Alex Raeford Jernigan; four sisters, Ola Mae Bryan, Lucille Lammers, Polly Jernigan, and Edith Jean Godbold; four brothers, Edward, James, Ray, and Billy Jernigan; and special niece, Dixie Knowles.

She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Albert Bryan; daughters Terrie (Gary) Westbrook and Tammy Cooksey and John Westbrook of Newton Grove; sons Jeffrey (Renee) and Danny Williams of Newton Grove; “special son”, Mike (Ashley) Tart of Greenville; seven grandchildren, Bridget (Bobby) Rackley of Newton Grove, Johnathan (Karmen) Williams of Newton Grove, Alex Cooksey of Charleston, South Carolina, Garrett Williams of Newton Grove, Brad (Val) Cooksey of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Gage Williams of Newton Grove, and Brendan Williams of High Point; two great-grandchildren, Ely Grace Williams and Forest Cooksey and one on the way Sophia; brother, Jerry Jernigan of Baltimore, Maryland; sister, Alice “Tennie” Berigtold of Glenburnie, Maryland; sisters-in-law, Ann Herring, Kay (Stuart) Raynor, Joy Reeves and Polly Jernigan; and many special nieces and nephews.

Born on November 6, 1936 in Wayne County, Margaret grew up in a large family being one of eleven children.  It was in this home that Margaret learned to cook, a delicacy she perfected over the years.  She married her husband, Bryan, on April 6, 1957.  She worked in the sewing factory and at Chicopee in Benson for several years before retiring from public work and being a housewife, where she kept “the books” for Williams Construction.  Being a housewife enabled Margaret to spend time with her grandchildren, visit her beloved neighbors and siblings, cook, travel, take bus trips, quilt with the “quilting ladies”, and watch her favorite soap opera, “The Young and the Restless”.

Margaret was the most wonderful mother to her four children, and the best “grandma” to her seven grandchildren.  She enjoyed spending time with them any day, but especially on Sundays when she would cook lunch and on holidays when the den was full of those she loved the most.  Known for her kind and compassionate heart, she leaves behind a legacy of giving and doing for others because she simply wanted to. 

A service celebrating Margaret’s life will be held on Wednesday, September 1 at Newton Grove United Methodist Church at 3:00 PM with the Rev. Chris Leak officiating.  The family will receive friends from 1 till 2:30 p.m. prior to the service in the fellowship hall and at other times following the service at their home.  Flowers are welcome or memorials may be given to:  Newton Grove UMC, c/o Brenda Raynor or Mary Schwartz, PO Box 471, Newton Grove, NC 28366 or 3HC Home Health and Hospice Care, 203 Cox Blvd., Goldsboro, NC  27530  ATTN: Lee Kincaid; or Southeastern Cancer Care or Cures for the Colors through Southeastern Medical Oncology Center-ATTN: April Branthan, 2402 Wayne Memorial Dr., Goldsboro, NC  27530

Online condolences may be made at; www.westanddunn.com

Services have been entrusted to West & Dunn Funeral Home, Inc., Newton Grove, North Carolina.