Obituary

Margaret Duncan Dunkle was born Saturday, December 26^th, 1931 in Bluefield, West Virginia.  She was raised by her mother, Helen, in the home of her grandparents Victor and Orpha Blackwell Duncan.  Margaret graduated from Bluefield’s Beaver High School in 1949 and married Austin Gerald Grim of Bluefield, Virginia on May 18^th, 1951.  They had one daughter, Kathy Sue.

Margaret worked in various business offices throughout her adult life.  One of the most notable was the American Cyanamid Company, which at the time sold explosives used for the coal mining industry in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.  Her work and contacts in this position led to her becoming a Kentucky Colonel in 1963 (www.kycolonels.org).  She concluded her working life when she retired in 1996 as a legal secretary to attorney Bruce Cunningham in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

After the break-up of her first marriage, she met Bill Dunkle when he performed the wedding ceremony of her daughter, Kathy, to Greg Webber.  Bill was an engineering and New Testament professor at Bluefield College where Kathy and Greg were two of his students.  Bill and Margaret were wed on August 16^th, 1974 and lived most of their married lives in the Sandhills of North Carolina.

When Bill’s health began to fail and he needed medical assistance for his daily care, Margaret made her home in Marshall, Michigan with Kathy and Greg in September of 2008.  They moved Bill to a nursing facility in Marshall where he passed away in February 2010.

Margaret returned to Virginia in 2011 when Greg was called to pastor Bowling Green Baptist Church.  She continued to live with Greg and Kathy until her own health began to fail, requiring more help than they were able to give her in their home.  She moved into assisted living at Blue Ridge Senior Living in September 2024, where she lived until her death on March 27^th, 2026 at 94 years of age.  She often reminded her family that she had not expected to live that long and told her fellow residents at Blue Ridge that she wasn’t just old—she was ancient!

Margaret was a quiet person who loved to read and work crossword puzzles.  She continued these activities until macular degeneration took most of her eyesight and made them impossible for her to do. Although she had diminishing eyesight and a profound hearing loss (even with hearing aids), she still enjoyed watching television game shows.  Her favorite was the Price is Right, followed closely by Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.  In spite of increasing pain due to osteoarthritis, Margaret maintained a sweet spirit and didn’t complain.  She reminded everyone of her gratitude to God for His blessings and goodness to her.  Her quiet but strong faith inspired those who knew her well.

Margaret is survived and greatly missed by the family she loved so much—daughter Kathy and her husband, Greg; her “sugar dumplin” granddaughter, Kristin Seward, and her husband, Jake; and her three great grandchildren, Ella, Milo and Olive Seward. They are comforted by precious memories and the knowledge that she is enjoying a new body in the presence of her Saviour Jesus and many loved ones she hasn’t seen for years.