Margaret Elsberry, 1928 — 2026
My mom, Margaret Elsberry, died in the evening of April 30th, 2026, after several months of treatment in hospitals and rehab facilities. She was transferred to hospice care earlier in the week.
Margaret lived 97 years, and saw so many changes over that time. She grew up through the Great Depression and World War II. Margaret worked as a telephone operator as a young woman, then took up the domestic management of our family, with additional service roles like leadership of Brownies and Girl Scout groups. Up until sometime in the 1990s, she also made our home a kind of casual bed and breakfast for relatives, friends, and acquaintances visiting central Florida, often also being the concierge and sometimes tour guide for those looking to visit any of the attractions and theme parks in the area. Known in her family as “Babe” and to many who knew her as a hostess as “The Roadrunner” for her fast pace in taking people around the various parks, Margaret kept a sense of adventure and discovery alive for much of her life.
The fading likely started late in 1996, when my brother, Daniel, was murdered in North Carolina. The tale is fairly chilling and bizarre even now, as Daniel’s path had crossed that of a criminal and, as it turned out, serial killer with a knack for making bodies or evidence disappear. It hit Margaret hard, and while she still offered the hospitality of her home thereafter, her direct involvement in and enthusiasm for Florida sightseeing declined markedly.
The aftermath of the Great Recession in 2008 saw my father’s business shuttered and their finances restricted, making it much easier to stay at home than go places.
Margaret’s health had been declining for a while by 2023. She moved to an assisted living facility in Lakeland, then my dad, Willard, died in 2024. More recently, she started having more serious issues related to a sedentary lifestyle and common ailments of the elderly that took a toll on her general health. As I mentioned, these last few months have seen her either in hospitals or rehab facilities.
Margaret and Willard have a niche at Lakeland Memorial Gardens. If anyone wishes to make a memorial gift in her name, I suggest the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida as the beneficiary, as the organization with which she had the longest association (as the Heart of Florida Girl Scout Council).
