It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of 4-H Volunteer Margaret Crites. Margaret passed away after a brief illness on Friday night at Cape Fear Hospital. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Bruce DeHart, a brother, and grandparents who raised her. She is survived by her father Tom Crites, brother Chris, as well as Rusty, The Pirate Jean Lafitte, Flambeaux, and host of incredible friends, coworkers, and folks that she had helped over her many years working in nonprofits.
Margaret's passion was for community and she and co-worker Jessica Drake started volunteering with our 4-H program more than 18 years ago. They started teaching arts and crafts to our cloverbuds during 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp. They would plan the most wonderful crafts, such as making musical instruments with paper plates and shower rings that had long ribbon curls that allowed the youth to move, play, and have the best time. Jessica went on to start the All Around All Stars Arts and Crafts 4-H Club before becoming the 4-H Agent in Cumberland County. Margaret had many roles over the years in 4-H. She was the co-leader of the the Hooks and Needles 4-H SPIN Club. She and Kareis Britt taught youth how to knit and crochet. Probably Margaret's most famous role in 4-H was that of our Cloverbud Chef. She would arrange to come in everyday during 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp to fix our youth a hot lunch. They were always fan favorites such as mac and cheese, grilled cheese, spaghetti, etc. She loved working with the youth and talking to them during lunch. She had a gift of making them all feel so special and when they got done eating they automatically thanked her for her hard work for them, because they just loved Ms. Margaret.
Margaret also had a wonderful child like sense of humor. Just for the fun if it she purchased a blow up dinosaur suit. She and her husband created all sorts of fun hygienics with the suit. She even got us in on the act as we created an elaborate story about dinosaurs being under the building and the youth needing to be quiet not to wake them up. On Fridays when our cloverbuds would get loud, Margaret would come running in with her dinosaur suit on and they would scatter until they realized that it was a nice dinosaur, and then they would see Margaret in it and they would want their photos taken with her. It was great fun and something that would build a little bigger each year and tickled Margaret to no end.
Margaret also enjoyed other Extension programs such as our sewing classes. She often signed up for the class, not that she needed the instruction, but loved creating projects, getting feedback, and helping others learn to sew. During her down time she often found little crochet and sewing projects to keep her entertained. She had found a new found love of judging at the fair. If that wasn't enough her passion for food and cooking were well known. To be a recipient of one of her culinary creations was truly a blessing unlike any other. In between she loved to travel and New Orleans was a favorite destination.
Leading a life of service is what Margaret exemplified. She worked and volunteered with several nonprofits including 4-H over the years. The prestigious list including being the director of the Robeson County Rape Crisis Center, working with Lumber River United Way, and most recently with Robeson County Partnership with Children. Margaret also volunteered with the Downtown Main Street, Diaper Bank, was a suicide crisis hotline volunteer, and was a co founder of the Robeson County Knit-In, helping devise and distribute the projects we created and donated to the community. Margaret also created a support group of nonprofit directors (who all had blow up animal suits) and organized a conference for them after COVID where they could meet in person, do some service learning, and get a photo of all of them in their blow up animal costumes. These are just a few of her many endeavors over her life.
If I had to say lessons learned for life from Margaret it would be things like: accept people for who they are, not who you want them to be; share your passions with others in life, it might just enhance or spark a passion within them; give folks kindness and a hand up not a hand out, helping someone to be self sufficient rather than dependant is an amazing thing.
Her final act of giving was to be an organ donor to give multiple people the gift of life. What a way to exemplify and share a life well lived.
Rest in Peace.
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