| “ | One day at a time... | ” |
Born on 7 September 1916 the third of six children, Margaret Davidson was born in Tacoma, Washington. She came from a diversified background as her family excelled at every trade they set their minds to, be it fishing, farming, or trade. One common tie that all family members shared was a deeply held and revered Christian faith.
Margaret Davidson
Margaret enrolled in nursing school and graduated three years later with high marks. Patients routinely complemented Margaret on her bedside manner. During this time, she balanced her time between work and her church. In 1935, Margaret heard about a member of the church who was a field worker until he contracted a near fatal fever and claimed to have a lengthy conversation with Jesus while he was in the hospital. The man, Jeremiah Witwicky, displayed remarkable charisma about the Bible. After a mere three meetings over coffee, her and Jeremiah married as both agreed it was God's will they were to be together.
In 1936, Margaret gave birth to her first son, William. Though she loved her profession, Margaret agreed to quit her job and work full-time to raise William and any subsequent children in a Christian home based on Jeremiah's strict Biblical interpretation. While she oftentimes showed affection toward her children, she ceded all disciplinarian and "final say" authority to her husband, even though she occasionally thought his tactics were too severe on occasion.
From the 1940s up until the 1970s, Margaret raised William and her other son, Ronald. Though she expressed remarkable kindness, she never let it slip Ronald and William's mind that their father was the moral, spiritual and unimpeachable head of their household. Throughout these years, Margaret retained few if any friends outside some fellow churchgoers and neighbors as she wholeheartedly committed herself to her family. ,
In 1989, Margaret was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Eight months after her diagnosis, on 7 December, she died under hospice care. Her funeral was a sparsely attended event with only the Witwicky family, a few members of her church, and two neighbors in attendance. Years after her death, Margaret continues to remain a mystery to William and Ron as both routinely admitted to one another that each one never knew who she was as a person as everything personal was kept to herself for fear of upsetting the Biblical foundation Jeremiah worked so hard to establish for his family.