Maggie Magdalene (“Madge”) Ledbetter McNeir
Madge passed away on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, of natural causes, just shy of her 91st birthday. She
was born in Bismarck, Arkansas and spent most of her life in Arkansas and Texas. She moved to
Rochester, NY, in 2019 to be closer to her daughters. Predeceased by her siblings, she is survived by her
stepdaughter Patricia (McNeir) Mahoney, her children Dolores Behrouzy-Far (Susan Riblett), Phillip
McNeir (Patricia (Blu)), and Leslie Harper (Gary Cunningham), grandchildren James, Lydia, Clifford, Levi,
Sabra, Shannon, McKenzie, and Kristina, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Madge was a retired civil service budget analyst for the military, which included being stationed in
Panama for 3 years. While she was proud of her work, she was perhaps most proud of her creative
endeavors: quilting (by hand), sewing, cooking, writing (including poetry), and painting (oils & acrylic,
charcoal, pastels, pen & ink, and colored pencils). She read voraciously, loved music, completed
crossword puzzles in ink, and rescued many animals. She did all this while mostly raising her children as
a single parent.
Madge had tremendous determination and fortitude. She was born during the depression with multiple
physical challenges, survived polio as well as many other adversities. From a young age Madge had
progressive views on equal rights, environmental concerns and politics and was willing to share her
views with anyone willing to listen. Following her second stroke, her tenacity was profoundly evident in
her ability to continue creating “art” using her non-dominate hand with extremely limited vision.
Throughout her life’s journeys, Madge collected many things: friends, stories, art supplies, fabric, books,
and FROGS.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Smile Train, (WEBSITE) or Operation Smile. (WEBSITE)