Page 104 - Tattnall County

Marjorie Kicklighter made the decision while it was still her decision to make. She met with her attorney and made sure everything was in order. In February 2010 she moved into the Glenvue Nursing Home in Glennville just as she had so carefully planned. At frst her family resisted. They assured her that they wanted to care for her. Even though she has an incredible family who loves her dearly, she tried to explain that this was her decision. The woman whom the residents had known as “Ms. Sunshine” had visited them for the last time. Glenvue Nursing Home was now home.

Some people grow old and bitter with time it’s true. But there’s no mistaking Ms. Marjorie’s sweet laughter for anything other than contentment. She frst came to visit family and friends in the Glenvue Nursing Home when the frst wing was built. That was forty-three years ago. In the last few years she and her friend, Ms. Estelle Swain “came almost every day to visit family and friends,” she explained. If she didn’t know someone, she would introduce herself and fnd out who they were. “They were glad to see us. I enjoyed it,” she said.

“I said whenever I can’t take care of myself at home I’m going to that nursing home.” At ninety-three and in complete control of her mind, who is going to tell Ms. Marjorie that she doesn’t know what she wants? She was the oldest of three girls. Because she was the oldest, she was the one sent to care for her grandmother in Bulloch County. A horse had run away with her and she’d suffered a broken leg. Every day Marjorie cooked and cleaned for her grandmother. Early in the mornings she would go with her to the felds where the crutches would be laid aside and she would get on her knees and crawl between the rows collecting the ripened vegetables with Marjorie beside her.

Ms. Marjorie knew well how to care for others. Up until the day she went into labor with her daughter, Winona, she had kept up with all the washing, cleaning, cooking, and yard work while caring for her mother-in-law, Ophelia Pageant. In her ninth month of pregnancy, her mother-