Marian Gay Puckett

Family and neighbors in Wilmington mark the death of Marian Gay Puckett on April 21, 2026. She was 92. Born August 11, 1933 in Wilmington, carrying Appalachian Scots stories that arrived without footnotes. She grew up believing that showing up was the first craft. She dipped insulators that shelves could trust. An insulator dipper rack tag never left the wall within reach. Colleagues still mention an insulator dipper rack tag never left. She married Gerald in 1958. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised three children through public schools and ordinary weather. After Gerald died in 2019, she kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember the radio low on a Saturday while repairs got done. Mornings were her favorite shift at home. She died in Wilmington, on streets that already knew her pace. The radio is still tuned to the station that played while work got done.