Margaret E. Woodard (Mayes) was born on February 17, 1933, to Benjamin W. Woodard and Florence Bright Woodard in Winnsboro Texas. Margaret was one of eight siblings and grew up in a small but tight-knit rural community. She graduated from Cartwright High School and moved to the big city of Dallas to live and work with her younger sister and cousin in downtown Oak Cliff. It is during this time she met and fell in love with a young soldier by the name of Floyd Mayes. They married in August 1958 in an intimate ceremony and immediately moved to Salina, Kansas where they were stationed at Schilling Air Force Base. All three of her children were born in Salina while stationed there.

The life of a military wife is not for everyone, but Margaret loved it and thrived in it. She met friends at every base and enjoyed being a stay-at-home Mom for her kids, never missing a baseball practice or a school function. During her time as a military wife, she resided in Little Rock Arkansas at Jacksonville AFB, but then moved back home to be close to her mother in 1967 and 1968 while Floyd did a tour of duty in Cam Ran Bay Vietnam. Upon his return, they finished his military career in Ft Worth, Texas at Carswell AFB.

Floyd retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force, and they settled comfortably into civilian life in Irving Texas where they spent the next 20 years raising their kids. They retired permanently, landing back in East Texas where they were both born and felt connected. They loved spending time on their 10 acres, growing their own vegetables, gardening and bird watching. Margaret was passionate about genealogy, and they enjoyed spending their time travelling around the country searching through county records for the resting places of their ancestors. Margaret also loved quilting and some of the family’s most treasured pieces are quilts made by hand in her younger years.

Margaret is preceded in death by her father, Benjamin W. Woodard; mother, Florence Bright Woodard; brother, Barney Woodard; brother, Weldon Woodard; brother B.W. Woodard; sister, Imogene Woodard Allen; brother, Joe Max Woodard and husband, Floyd W. Mayes.

She is followed in life and provides cherished memories to those still living; sister, Melba Woodard Droese and her husband Norm; brother, MacArthur (Bud) Woodard and his wife Gayle; daughter, Barbara (Jeanie) Griffin; son, Floyd W. Mayes and his wife Cari; son, David B. Mayes and his wife Kelley.

She is also survived in life by her pride and joy; her eleven grandchildren; Adam Amar, Bishop Mayes, Amy Mayes, Tiffany Mayes Thomas, Brandon Griffin, Daniel Mayes, Joshua Mayes, Bryan Griffin, Kayley Krause, Dylan Krause, Lindsay Krause; and her eleven great grandchildren; Mary Ann Alison (Ali) Thomas, Charlie Andrea Thomas, Jasher Weldon Thomas, Grayson Eaton, Zeyda Jane Mayes, Olivia Amar, Harper Gray Mayes, Holland Blake Mayes, Beckett Theodore Griffin, Juniper Lee Griffin, and Aiden Luke Griffin.

Margaret passed away peacefully and quietly at home surrounded by her children holding her hand as she drew her last breath. She fought a long and difficult battle with lung cancer, but in the end, she passed the way she chose to live-her way. She had just surpassed what would have been their 65th wedding anniversary in August. It was her ultimate wish to be at home with family as she transitioned from this world to the next and it was her children’s great honor to abide by those wishes as they handed her off to a waiting Floyd. May her memory be a blessing to everyone who had the honor of knowing her.

A graveside service is planned for Thursday September 21, 2023, at 2:15 at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Online condolences may be made at www. mulkeybowlesmontgomery. com