Margaret Brinkman

Margaret (Marge) Elizabeth Brinkman, 83, went to her eternal home with the Lord on Friday, September 22, 2023. She was born a Connecticut Yankee on March 20, 1940, to Margaret Webster. Raised by her grandmother, Elizabeth DesMarais, and her mother, she lived in Connecticut until junior high school. They then moved to upstate New York, where she graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 1957. Following high school, she attended Rochester institute of Technology to study interior design. While at RIT, she met and married Robert Booth Reeves. Three children, William Charles Reeves, James Paul Reeves, (deceased at age six), and Deborah Lynne Reeves were born in this marriage.

Marge did everything from clerking to US rural mail carrier, waitressing, to running a roller-skating rink. She went back to college in 1998 to earn a horticulture degree. With those credentials, she became a freelance florist.

Marge was fortunate enough to be able to travel the United States, Canada, Nova Scotia, and Alaska with Bob Brinkman. She took an unforgettable trip to London with Ken Tillery. Her special interests were floral design and teaching those skills to various senior citizen groups in the area. Hymn singing and devotionals at Country Home Estates in Commerce, paint-by-numbers, jigsaw puzzles, reading, singing, and sharing God’s word through Certified Lay Servant Speaking ministries were some of her favorites. Early on in Marge and Ken’s life together, they owned and operated Vintage to Vogue Antiques in Greenville, Texas.

At one time or another in her life, she served on Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Firefighters of the State of New York, various library boards, and as a radio-controlled airplane pattern judge. She and Ken enjoyed their “back deck” time together along with a glass or two of wine.

Marge is survived by her beloved and cherished companion of 14+ years, James Kenneth Tillery; his son, Joel Tillery and wife, Susan; and grandson, Lance; her son William Charles (Chuck) Reeves, and wife, Debbie Barnes Reeves; daughter, Deborah Lynne (Debbie) Potts Powell, and husband, Randy; beloved granddaughter, Kelsey Lynne Potts and Melissa Potts Whitley; step-son, Mitch Brinkman, and wife, Trina, their children, great grands and great great-grands.

Marge is preceded in death by her mother, Margaret Webster; husband, Bob Brinkman; and son, James Paul Reeves.

There are many friends that will miss Marge. Shirley Rice has been a very special friend, confidant, and “doer of fun things together” through the years. Each outing was a special occasion. Marge was passionate about “the farm”, their dogs, cats, and other assorted wildlife, which included three buzzards. She touched many lives with love, the joy of the Lord, enthusiasm, creativity, and positivity.