In Memory

Margaret Wilson (White) VIEW PROFILE

Margaret Wilson (White)

In loving memory of our dear classmate.

 

Margaret J. White Margaret J. White, a long-time Hays County resident, was born in National City, California, on November 21, 1946, although she grew up in Houston. She was the daughter of Sam and Ada Wilson. She graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor s in Education with a major in Art. Professionally, she taught in the elementary special education field until her retirement in 2000. Although she was a teacher, she was a naturalist and an artist at heart who loved dragonflies. She loved poetry and writing, having become a published writer. She had an interest in Austin music. She was a certified herbalist and she was active in her church s nature trail, helping plan and identify the local plants. Ms. White was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her sons, Russell Hughes White and Will White; her sisters Sandra and Janice and her brother Sam "Dennis" Wilson. Family members especially thank the Hays County Sheriff s Department and the many volunteers who helped search for her. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, August 4th, at Unity Church, Wimberley. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Margaret White Memorial fund at: Unity Church of Wimberley, POB 861, Wimberley, TX 78676.
Published in Austin American-Statesman on August 3, 2005



 
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12/22/10 03:04 PM #1    

Jackie Crowe (Finch)

Margaret Wilson White - Died July 31, 2005

December 22, 2010 - I just received this information on Margaret (Wilson '64) White from Marsha McDaniel.  We had been corresponding back and forth about information regarding Margaret and her whereabouts -- but with sad news Marsha's research discovered Margaret died on July 31, 2005 from a rattlesnake bite.

Jackie,
 
I did find out what happened to Margaret Jane Wilson White (Waltrip HS Class of 1964).  Just sorry to say my search lead to a sad ending.
 
She died on July 31, 2005.   I have sent information about her that I have found out from the internet and talking to one of the rescue people.  The site below shows a picture of Margaret and talks about the rescue search for her.
 
 
   
She died from a rattlesnake bite.  I sent an email to the rescue team that located her and they called me Tuesday evening.   Roni, the lady that has the canine dogs trained to search and find said they were called in several days after Margaret went missing.  Her van was found by a DPS trooper on the side of the road with all of her things still in it but no sign of Margaret.  Roni said that Margaret liked to stop and gather flowers and plants from the side of the road.   While she was out in the grass, flowers and/or weeds she was bitten by a rattlesnake.   Evidently, when the snake bit her she ran, but instead of going back to her van she ran the other way, went through a fence and down in a low area.   Margaret must have gone in to shock and that is where they found her.   Roni said they had probably 100 people out searching for her but could not locate her.   That is when she received the call to bring her dogs over to help in the search.   Roni said her dogs found the scent right away and located Margaret's body.    She was out in the country and found on someones ranch. They did an autopsy on her and found she died from a rattlesnake bite.
 
I asked her if she had the obit. information so I could see if Dennis Wilson was a survivor but she does not know anything about Margaret's family information.
 
I did find in the archives in the Austin Statesman Newspaper the Obit. for Margaret.   It is on the attachment.   This does list her brother Samuel Dennis Wilson(Waltrip HS Class of 1964) as a survivor but does not tell any other information about him.
 
I did find another article talking about snake bites and it mentioned Margaret. Part of the article is below in blue.
 
On average, one to two people in Texas die each year from venomous snakebites. In 2005, former Hays CISD schoolteacher Margaret White was found dead on a Wimberley-area ranch, presumably killed by a venomous snake.
Roughly half of all venomous snakebites are “dry.” That is, the snake does not inject venom into the victim, the Texas Department of State Health Services says.
 
Marsha McDaniel
 
 
 

02/21/11 04:59 PM #2    

Jackie Crowe (Finch)

Margaret's older sister, Janice Stensrude, sent me this additional information on 2-21-11 - 

I was so happy to see your memorial to Margaret. It is such a shock to lose a baby sister, particularly so young. I guess July 31 was the date they found her body. She would have died the day she disappeared, which was July 22. I exchanged several emails with a sheriff's officer. He told me about the 100-person search, but said that it was a helicopter that same day that spotted her -- also that they had to use horses to bring her out. So here's another story,about the dogs picking up her scent. When I asked him the official date of death, he didn't reply. I guess he was tired of answering my questions. He said they found two sets of punctures on her ankle, but that there was not enough tissue left to identify the snake that they believed killed her. He said they thought it was a diamond back, because they will strike first with a dry bite, then a second time with venom. She apparently didn't move fast enough.

 
She became interested in herbs when her special education class did a project on growing a herb garden. One of her kids won the science fair that year with his contribution to that project. She became interested in wild plants and became a recognized expert in Texas wild herbs and grasses. She started an organization of herbalists and ethnobotanists. I think she called it Weed People. She lived in New Mexico for several months attending a special herb school. She developed an outdoor curriculum and traveled to various schools and helped them set up nature trails and identify local plants. She had compounded a herbal remedy for itchy rash and chigger bites. It became popular around Wimberly. There was even a doctor who prescribed it and the local pharmacy would buy from her. When she first started making it, she could go to the same place each year and find her major ingredient.
 
After several years of drought, she had to look in a different place each year. She was returning from a trip to East Texas when she pulled off the road. She left her purse and keys in the car, so I think she was just going to go a short way and see if she could spot her herb..We had just exchanged email and I knew about her trip, but no one thought to ask a sister in Australia!

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