Marguerita Frances Tollenaere, 97, of Hampton, died peacefully at home on December 17, 2021 with family at her side.

Mrs. Tollenaere was a native of Hounslow, Middlesex, England and the daughter of Leonard and Mabel Hoskins.   Margie, as she was so dearly called, was an adventurous young girl. When the war broke out and London was under fire, our grandfather made arrangements for his family to relocate down to Cornwall.   She loved the sea, the cliffs and exploring the caves.   She was also very dedicated to her country and followed in her brother's footsteps and joined the military.  She was in the Royal Air Force and assigned to a transportation group.  This is what started her love for the WWII Spit Fire.  Margie could tell you anything about world history, her time during the war, driving ambulances, fuel trucks and basically anything with an engine.

An avid learner, Margie loved to read and loved history and kept up with current events, and "tested" us quite a bit.   She had such varied interests, but her garden was truly on the top of the list with so many varieties of flowers and plants, she knew the botanical name for all.  She shared her plants with all of us and others, including her doctor.  Margie was a huge fan of NASCAR racing and loved driving a stick shift car.  Not sure if she ever drove an automatic.  She would let us know who was on the pole for each race!  She loved taking drives to see the changing colors of the trees and surrounding gardens.  She painted, knitted, embroidered, and sewed.  With three girls needing dresses, she made us the most beautiful clothes for school, church, dances, and a wedding dress.  All this was done on her Singer hand cranked machine.

She was a very humble person and lived very simply, she was spiritual and loved everyone unconditionally.   She was the smartest woman we knew.  Margie loved to share her stories of life experiences but also loved to listen to yours.  She was a very kind woman and never had an unkind thing to say about anyone.

Margie was proud of her English heritage, and she taught us so much based on her traditions and history.  She would remind us that Queen Elizabeth II, was our queen.  She loved bright colors and always had an English flare for wonderful hats. You would never see her without earrings and lipstick – always looking so beautiful and the part!  She has taught all of her generations; children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren how to enjoy a good cup of tea and the refreshments that go with it.

As her family grew, it was a tradition that the children and grands got together on Christmas and Easter for a big gatherings and celebrations.  When the family grew much larger and the great grands arrived, the celebrations were limited to Easter Day at GiGi's.   All would come, celebrate and enjoy.   We will always remember our annual Easter gatherings at GiGi's.

Margie was an active member of St. Rose where she was involved with Women's Scripture of St. Rose and the Ladies of St. Rose.  She chaperoned many Catholic school dances and helped in the school cafeteria.  She always gave of her time when asked and was a constant supported of St. Jude Hospital and Operation Smile, supporting two surgeries.   She loved working with WHRO, going over weekly to read news articles, on air, to the visually impaired.

Mrs. Tollenaere was preceded in death by her spouse, Donald Tollenaere; her daughter, Charlotte Hardy; and her granddaughter, Amy.  She is survived by her sons; John Tollenaere and V. J. Wigington of Seneca SC, Jamie Tollenaere and April of Virginia Beach, VA and Robert Tollenaere of Walhalla, SC;  her daughters, Christina Curtis and Scott of Hampton, VA and Rebecca Heinatz and Rudy of Gloucester VA; her eight grandchildren,  Angela Wilson, Tina Silberhorn, John Hardy, John Brandon Tollenaere, Sara Williams, Katherine Gibbons, Rudy Heinatz III, and Lauren Meisinger; her seventeen great-grandchildren,  Christian, Reid and Gage Williams, Justin and Joey Santos, Ford, Jack and Addy Silberhorn, Ethan Hardy, Matthew and Madeline Tollenaere, Will Heinatz, William Gibbons.  Brooke and Skye Meisinger and Aubrey and Josh Wilson.

She will be missed by all, especially by her very special spaniels, Abby and Lucy.

A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, December 30, 2021  at Immaculate Conception Church, 2150 Cunningham Drive, Hampton, VA.  The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM at the church.

Should friends desire, contributions can be made in Mrs. Tollenaere's name to one of her favorite charities,  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital www.stjude.org or  Operation Smile www.operationsmile.org .