Margie Fay Freeman Pace

Margie Fay Freeman Pace, 80, of Longview passed away after a long illness on 24 January 2020. Born in Rusk County, Texas, in 1939, she attended Tatum High School for most of her young academic life and graduated from Henderson High School, class of 1958, and later studied at LSU-Shreveport. As a lifelong learner, she also took courses at Centenary College, LeTourneau, Kilgore College, the American Institute of Banking, and the School of Bank Marketing at the University of Colorado. For most of her life she called Longview home but lived at times on nearby Lake Cherokee and in Colorado. She especially enjoyed snowmobiling out west and RV jaunts across the American heartland. Her career in banking and marketing included positions, over the years, at the Longview Chamber of Commerce, where she served as Director of Membership, and, as Assistant Vice President, Commercial National Bank (before it became Allied Bank of Longview). Her civic contributions were manifold. They included affiliations with and service to the National Association of Bank Women, the American Cancer Society, the Longview Women's Forum, the Longview Women's Network, and, in Shreveport, the American Rose Society and the Historical Preservation Society. A past president of the Longview Symphony Guild, she also served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association of East Texas. She served, too, on the board of the Longview Beautification Association. She was a member of Greggton Baptist Church in Longview (and, previously, Broadmoor Baptist in Shreveport). An especially devoted member of Henderson's Stewart Cemetery Committee, she tried never to miss “homecoming.” Margie was predeceased by her parents, Mary Rosel Wilson Freeman and Dollie Rae Freeman, and her brothers Melvin and Charles Freeman. She is survived by her daughter, Pamela Zager Cowart, of Columbia, South Carolina; sister, Lucile Freeman; nieces Beth Freeman and Diane Copeland; cousin Tom Taylor and his wife, Diane; and son-in-law, David Cowart. Also bereaved: her dear friends Stanley Novak, Delmer Holder, Debbie Watts, and Dr. Terry Gerber. Margie’s mantra: “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass . . . it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” A drop-in celebration of life will be held at Rader Funeral Home, Longview, from 2:00-4:00 PM Wednesday, 29 January 2020, with remarks by Pastor Ted White. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Longview Beautification Association (https://keeplongviewbeautiful.org/who-we-are/).

Margie Fay Freeman Pace

September 24, 1939 - January 24, 2020