Margaret Annis Millar Dawson, 79, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away Tuesday, December 5, 2023. She was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on August 15, 1944, to Howard and Modean Millar.
Margaret’s family owned the Crater of Diamonds in Murfreesboro, Arkansas until they sold it in 1969. It became an Arkansas State Park in 1972, and more than 35,000 diamonds have been found in the 37-acre field. As a girl, Margaret worked in the gift shop and restaurant with her mom and sister. She was proudest of her dad’s authored book, It Was Finders-Keepers at America’s Only Diamond Mine (1976).
After obtaining her master’s degree at the University of Arkansas, Margaret taught speech pathology at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. In addition to serving as a speech teacher in multiple schools such as Gurdon, Arkadelphia, and Hot Springs – Lakeside, she worked at the Human Development Center in Arkadelphia. Children with special needs gravitated toward her.
She and her husband Paul moved to Craig, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island in 1993 where they lived for 25 years. While in Alaska, the Alaskan government flew her via float planes to remote areas to teach speech pathology to those in need of help.
Margaret was married to Paul E. Dawson. During her life they visited the Holy Land, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Thailand. She was a certified scuba diver and Elder of the Presbyterian Church in Craig, Alaska. She loved exotic birds and her dog.
Margaret was preceded in death by her parents and her stepdaughter, Caro Wilding.
She leaves behind her loving husband of 33 years, Paul E. Dawson; two daughters, Laura Scott and Gina Scott Ligon; a son-in-law Derek Ligon; a stepdaughter, Amelia Penn; a stepson, Matthew Dawson; and seven grandchildren, Kennedy Baker, Kate and Henry Ligon, Brighton and Cullen Dawson, Siobhan Kearny and Roman Pavageau; and one sister, Mary (Millar) Jarrett.
Arrangements are entrusted to Ruggles Wilcox Funeral Home, 517 Clay Street, Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923. www.ruggleswilcox.com
