ROCKY HEAD COMMUNITY…Mrs. Margaret Ann McMillon Hamby, a resident of the Rocky Head Community, near Ariton, died late Sunday morning, March 22, 2026, at her home. She was 84.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Mt. Olive Cemetery with Pastor Tommy Hartzog officiating. The family will receive friends from 9:30 until 10:30 A.M. Thursday at the funeral home. Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home of Ozark is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Hamby, daughter of the late Franklin McMillon and Katie Record McMillon, was born on August 13, 1941, in Troy. She grew up with the simple values of hard work, family, and faith, and those values stayed with her throughout her life. In the 1970s, she made her home in the Rocky Head Community, where she quickly became part of the fabric of the place — the kind of neighbor people were always glad to see coming.
She attended Vanderbilt Church in Brundidge, where she found comfort, fellowship, and a sense of belonging. Her faith was steady and quiet, but it guided her in the way she treated others — with patience, kindness, and a gentle spirit.
Mrs. Hamby had a gift for working with her hands. Quilting, crochet, and needlepoint weren’t just hobbies for her; they were ways she showed love. Many people have something she made — a blanket, a doily, a piece of needlework — and those pieces carry her warmth stitched right into them. When she wasn’t sewing, she enjoyed sitting down with a good crossword puzzle, taking her time and letting her mind work through each clue. Those small, peaceful moments were some of her favorites.
She carried deep love for her family, and she also carried deep loss. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jessie Hamby; two daughters, Jeretha Ann “Ree” Smith and Patricia Hamby; and a son, Jessie “Tootsie” Hamby. She also mourned the passing of her siblings — Margaret Hamby, Frances Burgess, Mary Louckes, Myrtle Record, and Roy McMillon. Even through heartbreak, she remained strong in her own quiet way, holding onto memories and leaning on her faith.
Those who knew her will remember her gentle nature, her steady hands, and the way she found joy in simple things. She didn’t need attention or praise; she just lived her life with love, patience, and a soft strength that touched everyone around her. Her legacy lives on in the family she cherished, the friends who loved her, and the many handmade pieces she leaves behind — each one a reminder of the care she put into everything she did.
Surviving relatives include her children, Debbie Cargile (John), Prattville, Shellie Chapman (Don), Brundidge, Lisa Ward (Kenny Carroll), Clio, and John Hamby (Tonia), Prattville; five sisters, Darlene Culver, Elba, Nelda Carr, Mona McMillon, Mildred Norris, and Linda Griswold, all of Troy; three brothers, Roger McMillon, Troy, David McMillon, Prattville, and Clyde McMillon, Ariton; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Serving as active pallbearers will be Kenneth Arnett, Connie Hamby, Sherry Chapman, Pat Sanders, Earl Wellwood, and Jessie Reeves.
