Margaret Louise Caruthers Ruppersburg

Margaret Louise Caruthers Ruppersburg died on February 22, 2019, at the age of 91. Most recently she resided at St. Anne’s Terrace, Atlanta, where she had lived for nine years.  For much of her life she lived in College Park, Georgia, where she raised her six children: Hugh Michael Ruppersburg of Athens (Tricia), Margaret Anne Watkins (Joe) of Sandy Springs, Karen Lynn Keenum (Ty) of Sandy Springs, Nan Renee Hudson (Tom) of Black Mountain, NC, Luke Caruthers Ruppersburg of Sugar Hill, and Elizabeth Finley King (Bill) of Elkins, WV. She had fifteen grandchildren: Bill Watkins, Michael Ruppersburg (Sarah), Emily Hudson (Bryan Quintana), Chris Keenum (Ann), Claire Watkins (Adam Dwyer), Margaret Hudson, Charles Ruppersburg (Chelsey), Patrick Keenum (Caroline), Andy Watkins (Amanda), Camille Hudson (Bryan Simmons), Max Ruppersburg, Elizabeth King, Luke Ruppersburg, Jr., Walter King, and Julia Ruppersburg.  She had seven great grandchildren. During her last days, she called her children and grandchildren “my crowning glory.”

Margaret was born on July 2, 1927, in Beaumont, Texas.  She was the only child of Luther Lawrence Caruthers (a crop duster and later a pilot for Delta Airlines) and Gussie Maxwell Caruthers (a schoolteacher and mother). As the daughter of a pilot who dusted crops across the southeast, Margaret moved often during her childhood.  She remembered attending thirteen different schools in one year. In 1939, her family settled in College Park, Georgia.  At the age of 12 she attended the premier of Gone with the Wind and wrote a short article about it for a local newspaper. She played the accordion and once a week rode the bus from College Park to Atlanta to play with a large accordion choir for young women.

During World War II Margaret volunteered for the Red Cross. She attended Richardson High School and then College Park High School, where she graduated first in her class in 1944. She went on to study journalism at the University of Georgia, graduating in 1948.  At UGA she belonged to Pi Phi sorority and served a year as president. She was inducted into Mortar Board, Pi Kappa Phi, and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies and was a staff member for the college yearbook, newspaper, and magazine. After graduation she worked several years for Davison’s department store in Atlanta and edited the company newspaper.  The Magnolia Tea Room at Rich’s was one of her favorite places.

In 1949 Margaret married Hugh Ruppersburg of College Park.  Her good friend Lucille, Hugh’s sister, had introduced them.  Children began arriving in 1950.  The marriage ended in 1976.  Margaret raised her six children on a tight budget, but she made sure they could pursue their interests.  She saw that they had music lessons, played sports, took ballet lessons.  She took them to the local library often and encouraged their reading. She attended any event in which they had a part.  She welcomed their friends into the house and gave them a place to sleep if they needed it.  She befriended neighborhood children. She was president of the PTA and often a room mother. She was good at tolerating, overlooking, and forgiving the various foibles of her offspring. She especially stressed education: all of her children graduated from college. Long after they had grown up and left home, she continued supporting and encouraging them. Later in their lives, they did their best to thank her. 

Margaret had a warm sense of humor and was a model of courtesy and grace.  She loved playing bridge with her friends. She enjoyed reading, socializing, baking, and following the news. She was a lifelong Democrat but generally kept her politics to herself, except among her children. For most of her adult life she attended First Methodist Church of College Park, where she taught Sunday School and kept the nursery. For several years she was a substitute teacher at Woodward Academy, where she also volunteered her time.  After her father’s death in 1967, she managed his four greenhouses and grew orchids which she sold to local florists. She kept books for her husband’s business and then for her son Luke when he took it over. She sewed clothes, knitted sweaters and stockings, and smocked dresses for her grandchildren.  She was a serious fan of crossword puzzles and Jeopardy.

Each summer for more than 40 years, Margaret’s children and grandchildren vacationed with her for a week on the Florida Coast, first at Destin Beach and then on St. George Island.  She enjoyed the fun and uproar of these gatherings.  She loved sitting on the beach, sipping a glass of Chardonnay.

Margaret was the heart of a family that loved her dearly and cannot begin to imagine her absence.