Margie Ann Manke Keeling, age 79, passed peacefully from this life on June 13, 2026, in Spring City, Tennessee, following a courageous nearly fifteen-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease.

Margie was born on January 20, 1947, in Ocala, Florida, to William Frederick Manke and Marjorie Elizabeth Gray Manke. She spent much of her childhood in the Kirkwood community of Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Murphy High School before moving with her family to Stone Mountain during her senior year. She graduated from Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Georgia.

Following high school, Margie pursued her lifelong calling in nursing. She attended the prestigious Grady School of Nursing, earning her bachelor’s degree and becoming a Registered Nurse. Nursing was more than a profession to Margie—it was her passion, her purpose, and her life’s work.

During a distinguished nursing career spanning more than thirty years, Margie served patients and families through positions at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia. Her nursing career included bedside care, emergency medicine, recovery room services, nursing education, administration, mass-casualty preparedness training, and home health care. One of the highlights of her career came while working at Grady Hospital, when she had the opportunity to transport by helicopter the very first kidney used for human transplant at the hospital and participate in that landmark procedure.

Even as Alzheimer’s gradually took much from her, it never fully took away the nurse within. Her nursing knowledge and instincts remained remarkably intact even in the later stages of her illness. She often continued giving directions and attempting to care for others, momentarily forgetting that she had become the patient. It was often said of Margie that she was “a damn good nurse,” and anyone fortunate enough to work alongside her would readily agree.

Margie was known for her servant’s heart, strong work ethic, reliability, humility, and high standards. She loved being barefoot, working in her garden, and pulling weeds. She enjoyed cross-stitching and quilting and took great pride in creating beauty with her hands. She was also a devoted mother who faithfully drove to, sat through, supported, and cheered at countless football practices and games, soccer matches, dance rehearsals, and recitals for her children.

When her busy nursing legs finally needed a rest, those who knew her best could easily picture her favorite place: sitting outdoors with a large mug of black coffee and a good cigarette, enjoying a quiet moment in the fresh air.

Margie is survived by her husband of twenty-five years, Ronald Alvin Keeling of Harriman, Tennessee; her daughter, Lisa Michele Headrick Meyer and husband Matthew Carl Meyer of Cumming, Georgia; her son, John Charles Headrick II of Ball Ground, Georgia; her grandchildren, Nicholas Matthew Meyer, Caleb Gray Meyer, and Caroline Elizabeth Meyer, all of Cumming, Georgia; her brother, William Frederick Manke, Jr., of Acworth, Georgia; her sister, Linda Susan Manke Turner and husband William Stuart Turner of Denver, Colorado; her niece Megan Brianne Turner McGrath and husband Ryan Patrick McGrath of Littleton, Colorado and their son, her great-nephew, Kellan William McGrath of Littleton; and her Nephew Brett a Stuart Turner of Arvada, Colorado; and her grandson by guardianship, Ryan David Keeling of Harriman, Tennessee, and numerous dearly loved cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William Frederick Manke and Marjorie Elizabeth Gray Manke.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026. Additional details will be announced by the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity to be designated by the family.

Margie’s legacy lives on in the countless patients she cared for, the nurses she mentored, the family she loved, and the example she set of service, perseverance, and dedication. Her hands spent a lifetime caring for others, and she will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

Fraker Funeral Home of Kingston in charge of all the arrangements.