Maggie Mae Whitaker

Maggie Mae Whitaker was born July 3, 1942, in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, to Verlon and Clara (Fulbright) Banning. After graduating high school, Maggie pulled green chain at a veneer mill so she could save money to attend nursing school. She did take some college courses and ended up taking work at a nursing home where she would work for many years. Being a natural caregiver, Maggie always wanted to be a mother, and when she did the kids were her priority. She would work nights while her husband worked days, so someone was always there for the kids.  With her indominable will, there was nothing Maggie could not do, and nothing could stop her from doing whatever she set her mind to. She was an incredibly hard worker and a very strong woman, taking whatever life handed her in stride. Maggie overcame great obstacles in her life and persevered through difficult circumstances, like the loss of her young son Elzy in a house fire at the age of 19. But always, no matter what she was facing, Maggie loved life and kept a good attitude, always smiling and encouraging others.Maggie was a creative soul and all her life created beautiful ceramics. She was a collector of so many different things over the years, small things bringing her a spark of joy. A lover of all creatures great and small, Maggie also collected animals. She had a farm in Lakeview, Oregon, for many years and raised lots of different animals, hatching and raising ostriches, emus, and rheas, but also raising mini deer and goats, and other farm animals and house pets. The school kids in the area loved to come to her “pegging zoo” and see all the animals. Maggie also had a green thumb and grew beautiful flowers and lots of produce which she canned in the summers, and the family especially loved her jams and jellies. She loved to teach her grandkids how to garden, passing along her love of plants to the next generation.Family was everything to Maggie, and she would do anything for any of them, taking care of whichever children needed her at any given time. She was especially close to her daughter Ruby whom she lived with much of Ruby’s life, helping raise her grandchildren while Ruby was in a difficult time in her life. Maggie’s health began to fail in the last few months, and on July 27, 2021, Maggie passed away at Stayton Hospital, devastating her beloved children and grandchildren.Maggie was preceded in death by her parents, her son Elzy, her daughter Connie, and her grandson Allen Hernandez, and her brother Vernon. She deeply missed by the loved ones she leaves behind including her children Clara Whitaker, Ruby (Jeff Hazlett) Jaimes, and Natasha (Shylo Salter) Bodda; grandchildren Josh, Burton, Elzie, Kenneth, Thelma, Rain, Clinton, Elena, Kadrien, Francisca “Tita”, and Trinidad; and numerous great grandchildren.