Margaret Lee Findley

Margaret Lee Findley, 90, of Shirley, Arkansas, departed this world on February 8, 2026, surrounded by her three daughters. She was born on May 20, 1935, in Thompsonville, Texas, to Newt Paul and Harriet Claudella Woodward. She grew up as an only child, following her father’s work in the Texas oil fields. Loneliness as a child fueled her lifelong dream of a large family—a dream she realized with nine children.

She was a devout member of Saint Jude Catholic Church in Clinton, where she served as a sacristan and often led the Rosary. Margaret was a legendary “prayer warrior.” Her faith was unshakable; even during an eight-year battle with cancer, she rarely missed Mass. She possessed a remarkable memory for prayer requests, often asking about the health of strangers she had been interceding for years after others had forgotten the need.

Margaret was an “ultra-homemaker” in Spring Valley, California, where she raised her children alongside her true love, Roger Kamoss. She was a master of self-sufficiency—tending organic gardens, honeybees, and livestock while sewing clothes and perfecting her famous sourdough pancakes that would disappear in about a minute. Her work ethic was unmatched. She took in ironing to support the family and eventually taught herself carpentry. When her husband dragged his feet on a kitchen remodel, he famously returned home to find Margaret had already taken a sledgehammer to the wall herself. Her skill with a saw was so well regarded that she turned cabinetmaking into a successful side business.

Her integrity was her compass. She once famously reloaded her seven children into the VW bus to return to the grocery store just to hand back five cents in accidental change. That same grit served her well throughout her life, including the time she successfully fought off a purse-snatcher in a parking lot, proving she was as tough as the cabinets she built.

In 1988, Margaret moved to Shirley, Arkansas, declaring a little fixer-upper on ten acres “home.” She lived a rugged, joyful life, jacking up her own house to pour footings and add rooms. She famously survived the 2008 tornado by hunkering down in her bedroom. When the storm passed, she emerged to find two walls and a portion of the roof completely gone, leaving her standing under the open sky. Later in life, she remarried her first husband, Rod Findley, after his 30 years of sobriety. He spent his final years holding her ladder and handing her tools as she continued to build.

Margaret felt God’s presence in the wind through the pines and the wildflowers along Shady Grove Road.

She is survived by eight children: Belinda (Steven) Murray, Lissa Findley, Janice Odegard, Douglas Findley, Jayson (Monica) Kamoss, Rex (Genevieve) Kamoss, Kevin (Faye) Kamoss, and Karl (Amy) Kamoss; sixteen grandchildren: Danilyn (Leeman) Cogbill, Rane Murray, Jesse Bowen, Sierra Bowen, Erik (Morgan) Odegard, Gabby (Beau) Laughlin, Judah Findley, Myah Joy Findley, Megan (Todd) Lotz, Justin (Bailey) Kamoss, Kaley Zepeda, Riley Kamoss, Mackenzie Jones, Evan Jones, Alexandria Jones, and Gavin Kamoss; and ten great-grandchildren. A special mention to three friends who never stopped calling on Margaret and sending cards: Judy Bennett, Judy Johnson, and Larry Martin.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Rod Findley; the father of her sons, Roger Kamoss; her daughter, Mardel Findley-Bowen; and grandchildren Deonnah and Micah Findley, and Tonia Silva.

Pallbearers are Douglas Findley, Jayson Kamoss, Rex Kamoss, Kevin Kamoss, Karl Kamoss, Gavin Kamoss, and Rane Murray.

Honorary pallbearers are Jesse Bowen, Erik Odegard, Judah Findley, Steven Murray, and Noah Cintron.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shady Grove Cemetery Fund or the Marian Movement of Priests (MMP).

Visitation will be held Friday, February 27, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at Ozark View Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 28, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Clinton, with Father Thomas J. Hart officiating. A Rosary will be held at 10:30 a.m., with Mass following at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Shady Grove Cemetery.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Ozark View Funeral Home. To share a memory or kind words, please visit www.ozarkviewfuneralhome.com

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