Mickey Margulies

Jewell Eddins Margulies, known to everyone as Mickey, passed away May 13 in Nashville. She was 88. Born the youngest of five children in 1935 in Wadesboro, NC, Mickey grew up on her sharecropper parents’ farm and steadfastly avoided learning how to milk so she’d never have to do it. It was the only duty she ever shirked. She never shied away from hard work or a challenge, and she remained a 5’2” force to be reckoned with until her last days. 

As a child of The Depression and a member of The Greatest Generation, Mickey left no bread tie unsaved, no piece of wrinkled tin foil unused, no bag – be it plastic or gift – un-squirreled away. Her rebellious streak lasted her throughout her life, from bucking her Southern Baptist roots to marry a Catholic boy (Her family scandalized, most refused to attend the 1960 wedding) to becoming Catholic herself after her husband, Bill, died 57 years later. Her family made sure she was able to receive the final sacrament in the end, which put her count up to six. Way to go, Mickey. She was a news junkie who could tell you what was going on anywhere in the world at any given moment, but she never made a fuss about it. Mickey was a great cook who loved to feed people. If you went to her house for Sunday dinner, you were taking leftovers home. She was a Master Gardener who spent every waking moment possible in her yard. It won awards, so that hard work paid off, but for Mickey it was truly a passion. The streets of her Heaven may or may not be paved by gold, but they’ll definitely be lined with a colorful riot of flowers.

Mickey worked in retail at JC Penney from 1977 until the pandemic hit in 2020. She was a breast cancer survivor, endured many surgeries for her neck and back, and was on oxygen continuously in her last years due to COPD. Through it all, Mickey never lost hope and fought her many ailments like the warrior she was. 

She was a doting grandmother – “Bickey” to her three grandchildren – and loved to travel. Her loved ones would like to believe she’s joined Bill on this last journey together. She left behind a treasure trove of the best recipes a family could want and a legacy of love that will show up in the best and the oddest of moments by those she left behind: Daughters Jan, Hendersonville; Karen, Nashville; Ellen (Chong Jue) Nashville & New York; son Paul (Cyd) Margulies, El Salvador; grandchildren Kaiti Lober (Josh), Nashville; Nola and William Margulies, El Salvador; sister Nan Lee Horne and brother Harold Eddins, both of Charlotte, NC; numerous nieces and nephews in Texas and North Carolina; and many loving friends. 

Visitation is from 3-7 p.m. June 6 at Hendersonville Memory Gardens Funeral Home and at 11 a.m. June 7 at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. Services follow at noon. Private interment. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mickey’ name to help beautify the grounds at Our Lady of the Lake, 1729 Stop Thirty Rd., Hendersonville, TN 37075. Or just go buy yourself a bunch of stuff at your local garden store and watch it grow.