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To Margaret Bradley, family was most important. To her, family was the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, togetherness. Margaret treasured her family and she especially loved family get-togethers.

“She was big on family, especially get-togethers and big meals on holidays such as Christmas,” said her daughter, Amy Campbell. In addition to Amy, Margaret had a son, Danny, and three grandchildren. She was one of seven children, all of whom are deceased except for a brother, John, who lives in Michigan.

Margaret died February 17.

Her life not only was marked by family, but with a smile. Seemingly, she always wore a smile, and oftentimes when she was with friends and family, that smile erupted into laughter.

When holidays or special times rolled around, you can bet there would be a family get-together. Her speciality when it came to desserts was chocolate pie and chocolate fudge with black walnuts. “She was really big on family reunions,” said Amy.

Margaret was a hard worker. She worked for several years at the East Tennessee Undergarment Plant, rarely missing a day. She took pride in not only her family, but her work. 

For her, holidays were for celebrating, and oftentimes, the family celebrated with fireworks, especially at Christmas and the Fourth of July. Southside Christian Church usually has an Independence Day Fireworks celebration, and it became an extension of Margaret’s show, and has continued to this day.

She was a fun person, who not only loved her family, but her church. She was a member of Southside Christian Church, but also enjoyed worshiping at First Christian Church and Borderview Christian Church. “She had friends in all these churches. They were her extended family,” shared Amy.

Not someone big on vacations, Margaret did enjoy going to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood, and occasionally would go to Nashville with her brother. Amy said her mother especially enjoyed going to Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen in Gatlinburg where she always got some pecan bark.

When she wasn’t working, she enjoyed watching Hallmark movies, westerns and old detective shows such as Magnum P.I. and Mannix.

She was also a Shirley Temple fan. “And, she really liked Elvis and Alan Jackson,” said Amy.

If you could sum up Margaret’s life, it would be love for family, her church, and the many friends she had made at church and in the workplace. But, to Margaret, there was nothing quite like family. To her home was people, not a place. 

A friend wrote on the funeral home tribute page: “Margaret was one of the sweetest women I knew at SS Christian Church. She was always smiling and went out of her way to speak to people, me included. She will be greatly missed by my mom whom she called on a regular basis, and myself.”

It has been said “So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty.”

That was true of Margaret Bradley…