Mary Margaret Valenta
1944 - 2023
Mary Margaret Valenta, April 29, 1944 – September 5, 2023.
Mary Margaret “Maggie” Valenta passed away peacefully at home on September 5, 2023 after a brief illness. Mary Margaret was born on April 29th, 1944 in Columbus, Mississippi to Winston Imboden and Helen Dean (Glover) Imboden.
She worked for many years as an administrative assistant, but retired in 2017 to pursue her true passions, cards and animals. After retirement, she moved from Covington, GA to Lewisville, NC, to live with her daughter, Lisa, on her farm. She enjoyed helping to take care of the various animals including dogs, horses, donkeys, cats, and chickens (not so much the donkeys). She met many wonderful and faithful friends playing Hand and Foot (a form of Canasta) at various senior centers in and around Winston-Salem. She also enjoyed beating her family at Rumikub.
She is preceded in death by her parents, as well as her sister, Helen Winston Bundrick. She is survived by her daughters, Lisa Evans and Manda Evans; her grandchildren, Nathaniel Harmon, Megan Atkins, and Hunter Atkins; and her great-grandchild, Liam Bartlett. Also of the home, Jonathan Puckett, Eli Puckett, and Caroline Puckett. She also leaves behind her brother, John Imboden, and sister, Angela Steele Alpert.
She had a life-long love of animals and will meet up with many at the Rainbow Bridge including her heart dogs, Cappi and Maddie. A private memorial service will be held on January 20th. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her honor to the ASPCA or AARF (aarfws.org).
Maggie was one of my best friends. She was like a sister to me. She helped me so much when my husband was sick and after he died. I will never forget our card playing days. Miss her so much
Maggie was the older woman in my life. We went to different High Schools together, but went to the same Church in Decatur, Georgia. My mother was her Sunday school teacher. Maggie was born in April 1944 and I was born in January 1945. We met when I was 14 and she was 15. In those days, I was eager to go to church each Sunday because I knew she would be there. She sat with a group of girlfriends, and I sat with the guys. Over time we began to sit together. When she got her driver’s license she would sometimes come by my house, say hi to my mom, and drive us out to a hamburger place in Avondale Estates for cheese fries and a cherry coke. We were living the real time “Happy Days” T.V. series. We helped each other through family troubles and dating issues more like a brother and sister than anything else. Then we grew up, with marriages, divorces, re-marriages, children, and life as we went our separate ways, but stayed in touch. I became an Air Force jet pilot and had three combat tours in Vietnam. She called me every year on my birthday, except when I was in combat. There were no cell phones back then. After the war, we stayed in touch, she met my wife Vicki and we spent a night in her home in Covington. Vicki and Maggie just bonded with one another. She was more than a friend—she was family. I would call her on her birthday and holidays to remind her that she would always be older than me. In a unique and very special way, I will always miss her. I will look forward to the phone call on January 11, 2024 even though it won’t be coming, but I will sit quietly then, and on all future Januarys and Aprils, to listen to the conversation of our hearts.