Margie Chadick

Margie Virginia Chadick

Born on June 22, 1924, in Canton, Mississippi

Died on August 13, 2022, in her home in Biloxi, after contracting interstitial lung disease, due to Sjogren’s syndrome, a condition that had been developing for quite some time, but was only recently diagnosed, and is incurable.  She was not in any pain when she passed.

She is preceded by her husband of 67 years Harold; her father Earnest Earl Russell, her mother Susie (White) Russell, her sister Hattie Pucheu, her brothers Clyde, Carol, Claude, and Paul Russell, and her sons Harold, Jr., and Charles Raynor Wilks III, and grandson Jeremy Heath Wilks.

She is survived by her sons, William G. Chadick and his wife Dianna, Timothy E. Chadick and his wife Jeanie, and daughters-in-law Dawn Chadick and Barbara (Wilks) Pittman; grandsons Joshua, Russell, and Zachary Chadick; granddaughters Haley Sherman, Rachel Chadick, Daisy Scott, and Brooke Vernon; great grandsons Hayden Sherman, Nickson Fedorczuk, Henry Vernon, Colson and Baylor William Chadick, Parker, Jackson, and Landon Wilks and great granddaughters Allie, Ingrid, Ivy, Caroline, Reese Sherman, Madison and Raegan Fedorczuk, and Mackenzie Cospelich.  Her family legacy is prolific and spans 6 generations:  4 sons, 8 grand children, and 16 great grand children.

She has numerous relatives, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends throughout Southern Mississippi and Louisiana.   Many friends, neighbors, and family members did not get mentioned in the newspaper obituary. But to name a few:

Mom’s niece, Cathy (Russell) Reagan and her husband Ron. Cathy was her last connection to her brother Paul Russell’s family.  Cathy and Mom talked daily and were shopping pals. Cathy and Ron were a great comfort to Mom especially during the past 10 years.

Long term neighbors Jules and Connie Galle. They looked after her, brought her meals, suffered through and recovered from hurricanes; all the things that friends and neighbors do. Another neighbor and longtime friend, Mona McCowan and her family who were early residents with Mom of the Ancient Oaks community.  Bill the gardener who cut her grass.  Bill was more than just the lawn man.  He offered her friendship and assisted with house maintenance after her husband died 8 years earlier.

Donga Raymond assisted her with house cleaning for many years and was also a friend.

Elsie Raymond was her hairdresser for over 2 decades, and every woman knows that your hair dresser is also your confidant and confessor.

The Corbell family, Mary and her husband Harold, and their children Kathy, Kevin and Gay have been steadfast friends since 1946.

Tim was the son who stayed here in Biloxi.  Tim and Jeannie, and their son Joshua were the constant supports who saw to Mom’s needs.  They visited her every day, and saw to it that she got to stay in her home when her husband died, and took care of the household business as Mom got older.  Thank you to Tim, Jeannie, and Joshua for your daily demonstration of love to Mom.

Mom grew up around Jackson, Brookhaven, Gulfport, and Nola, Mississippi.  Her father died in an automobile accident while she was still a young girl.  Her mother, Susie (White) Russell had to work.  As a consequence, Margie spent a lot of time with her aunts, uncles, brothers, and older sister.  In truth, her Aunt Annie and Uncle Jess, brother Carol, and sister Hattie essentially raised her.  She attended a little, all grades school, in Hub, a small country crossroads outside of Columbia, Mississippi. She graduated from the 8th grade, which was equivalent to high school at that time. She was a child of the Great Depression and World War II.  Life was hard.  There was little money to go around.  Hence, reliance on family was paramount to survival.  She retained that value of the central importance of family throughout her life. She was fiercely loyal to family.

During World War II she worked as a quality inspector at the parachute factory in Columbia, Mississippi. She had a brief, teenage marriage to Charles Wilks, in Columbia, which resulted in her first son, Charles Raynor Wilks III.  After a quick divorce, in which she lost custody of her son Raynor, she moved to Gulfport and graduated from Carr Secretarial School. Work took her to Baton Rouge where she was employed as head cashier at the very elegant, in its time, Istrouma Hotel.  While she was in Baton Rouge she met the true love of her life, Harold M. Chadick, a native of Shreveport, LA, who was working as a bellhop at the Istrouma Hotel while he was attending Louisiana State University.  They courted, fell in love, and married on June 1, 1947.  After graduation in 1948, the young married couple moved to Shreveport, where she took a job as a shoe sales lady at Selber’s Department Store.

Their life changed dramatically when her husband Harold was recalled to active duty military service in 1950.  She had her second son, William, while they were assigned at Ft. Hood, TX in 1951.  Shortly thereafter they were posted for overseas duty in Germany.  They lived in Heidelburg and Mannheim, Germany, 1951-1954, where she bore a third son, Timothy in 1953.  After returning to the United States, she had a fourth son, Harold, Jr., in Atlanta, GA in 1955.   She continued to accompany her husband on subsequent military assignments to Ft. Benning, GA, to Ft. Bragg, NC, to Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and to San Diego, CA.

One of her favorite times was living in Paris, France, 1962-1965.  The family traveled extensively in Europe during the time they were posted in France, with memorable camping trips to Barcelona, Spain, the French Riviera, the Austrian Alps, and Pisa, Italy. She especially enjoyed shopping in the Paris flea market. She did the crossing to and from France the old fashioned way, on the very elegant SS United States ocean liner, one of her most enduring memories.  The return crossing from France was particularly noteworthy. Her husband had to depart early due to a military emergency. Hence, she had to make the weeklong return crossing on her own with three kids and a dog.  Upon disembarking in New York City, she had to retrieve her automobile from the shipping company, which was a 1959 pink Mercury station wagon, one of the largest station wagons ever made. It looked like it was a block long.  And then proceed onward with a 3 week cross country driving trip from New York City to San Diego, CA. This was in the days before a coast-to-coast interstate system, before internet route guidance, in a non-air conditioned car, staying with family, friends, and military cohorts along the way.  To say that she was capable and determined is a serious understatement.  She kept the home fires burning when her husband was deployed to Korea and Vietnam.

By happy circumstance, military service brought the family back to Biloxi when her husband was assigned to teach Army ROTC at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969.  She resumed her job as a shoe sales-lady with Gryder Shoes in the Edgewater Mall, and later with Gayfers Department Store. She finally retired in 1983. She saw a lot of feet and sold a lot of shoes in her 14 year career. After her retirement she continued to serve the community as a Red Cross worker at the Keesler Air Force Base Hospital where she did volunteer work for another 15 years. Her commitment to the Gulf Coast was demonstrated by rebuilding her home twice, after Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Katrina.

Everyone knew her as Marge or Margie. Her favorite pastimes included gardening, fishing, and crabbing; and shopping then returning clothes that she decided were not just right after all. She worked newspaper puzzles every day; was an avid reader of romance novels; and loved to play cards-canasta in particular. She was raised in the Baptist Church, but became a devout worshipper in the Methodist Church, with membership in the First United Methodist Church of Biloxi and Mooringsport United Methodist Church in Louisiana.

She had a wickedly keen, and earthy sense of humor.  You could count on her to say the most outrageous things, while still being totally endearing to everyone around her.  She had a way of fracturing the English language.  We would correct her.  She would say, “Yes I know,” then proceed to ignore us and say it her way anyway.

Mom was still driving her car as late as 3 weeks ago, still doing her personal checkbook by hand, balancing it to the penny, taking care of as much housework and yardwork as she could physically handle, and very much “with it” mentally up to end.  She knew who each of her visitors were in the hospital.

She had a lifelong love story with her husband Harold.  He adored her and she worshipped him in return.  They both enjoyed long, fruitful, healthy, and happy years together.  There is no doubt that Harold, and the rest of the family has welcomed her into heaven.  We should all be so blessed to live 98 (+) years the way she demonstrated to us.  To be specific, her Christian faith walk first, family a close second, with a deep sense of patriotism, sharing with her community, and an abiding sense of doing the right thing always.  We will miss the matriarch of our family.

Visitation will be on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, from 10 – 11 am at the First United Methodist Church of Biloxi, 14220 Shriners Blvd, Biloxi, MS.  The funeral service will be at 11 am in the church.  Interment will be in Biloxi National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the First United Methodist Church of Biloxi.

The Riemann Family Funeral Home, Biloxi, is serving the family