Margaret Jean McKay, known to her friends as "Skinny" and "MJ," passed away on Christmas Eve, 2004 from sudden liver failure, due to accidental Tylenol poisoning. She was 21 years old. Margaret was born in Durant, Oklahoma on May 3, 1983 and resided in Milburn, Oklahoma until she was 2 1/2, and lived in Visalia the rest of her short life.
Between her grade school years and junior high school, she competed in numerous beauty pageants and had a room full of trophies from the titles which were awarded to her over the years. Her best asset, according to her friends, was her constant smile.
She graduated from Mt. Whitney High School in 2001. She loved music and played Viola in the orchestra, sang in the choir, and competed on the water polo team. Her father, an accomplished songwriter and musician, was also teaching her to play guitar and piano and how to compose songs. She worked as a Customer Service Specialist at Office Depot since 2002, and in her spare time, she helped to raise funds to donate to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera.
Margaret is survived by her father, Bob McKay from Visalia; her grandparents, Margaret Dickerson from Visalia, and Beverly and Warren Unck from Sacramento; her brother, Bobby from Visalia; her sister and brother-in-law, Heather and Craig Stout from Dinuba and Margaret's 2 neices, Hannah and Hayle; her fiance', Steven Gutierrez from Visalia; and 5 uncles and an aunt. Margaret's mother, Linda, passed away in August of 2007, at age 50.
Margaret was a compassionate person and also a donor to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera, so during and after the celebration of her life, the family is accepted donations for Valley Children's Hospital in Madera. The following May (on her birthday), the family presented the hospital with the donations for the memorial fund that was established in Margaret's name. The donations totaled over $2,000. Another large donation was made just before Christmas that year.
The celebration of her short, but sweet, life was held at Hadley's chapel in Visalia on December 29, 2004, followed by a graveside service in the Visalia cemetery, which featured a song that her father composed especially for the service and performed graveside. If friends wish to see her grave site and headstone, just drive straight through the cemetery gate all the way to the very back road in the cemetery, then turn right and immediately park. Her headstone has her photo on it and it will be on the left side of the road, about 15 feet north and 10 feet west of the big tree. Margaret's mother is buried with her, at her mother's request.
The family still has some photo CDs with hundreds of images of her that spanned her entire life, including some pageant photos. Over 600 of these CDs that were handed out at her memorial service. If you would like one, you may email her father, Bob, and he will gladly mail one to you. His email address is: big_mack1@yahoo.com
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