Margaret Calamese Cobb Briggs Truss, was born May 24, 1928 to James Calamese and Bessie Bullock, in Cleveland, Ohio. Margaret’s mother died two weeks after her birth and her father asked the best people he knew to raise her…her maternal great aunt and uncle, William and Mary Cobb. Margaret grew up in Leavittsburg, just outside of Warren, Ohio. She often commented that she had a wonderful childhood and could not have been loved more. She graduated from Leavittsburg High School in 1946 and attended Stautzenberger College and the University of Toledo. Margaret met and married Nolen Briggs and they had one child, Gwendolyn. Margaret and Nolen moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1950 and united with Friendship Baptist Church on Watch Meeting night 1951. Margaret held several small jobs before being hired by the federal government at Rossford Ordinance, where she remained until the facility closed in the early 1960’s. She later secured a position at Blue Cross of Northwest Ohio (Medical Mutual) and remained there until she took early retirement in 1988. In August 1953, Margaret was left to raise her daughter alone, when she was widowed. She remained a single parent until 1960, when she married John Truss and became mother to two more children, Letheniel (Butch) and Priscilla. Margaret was widowed again in 1999, after being married to John for almost forty years.

Margaret was an amazing mother. She always made sure she had fun with her kids: playing Scrabble and Monopoly, sleeping in the back yard with them, taking them riding in a bumpy pickup truck and taking them on outings with the neighborhood kids. Margaret was always outgoing, fun and never met a stranger. She had a very quick wit, for which she was known. She was extremely observant and missed nothing. If she saw something she didn’t like, she would pull you aside and let you know. The look on her face always let you know she had been paying attention. She was active in the community, serving on the Friendship Usher Board for over 60 years. She served on the Toledo Metropolitan Mission Laity Task Force on Substance Abuse, working with others in the community, as Friendship’s representative to combat drug abuse. Serving on the TMM Task Force afforded her the opportunity to represent the city and the Task Force in Washington D.C., at national meetings. She also served as her neighborhood block watch captain for over 10 years and volunteered at St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Family House Homeless Shelter, where she met and became close to one of her many adopted children. She would always say ‘she had more than enough love to go around’. Margaret was good with figures and became close to many young adults, while spending time teaching them how to budget and manage their finances.

Margaret was preceded in death by husbands: Nolen Briggs and John P. Truss, Four Parents, and Three Brothers.

She leaves to celebrate her life daughters, Gwendolyn Briggs, Priscilla (Ronald Sr.) Greer, three grandchildren, Lethaniel (LaDonya) Nash, Nichole Greer, Ronald (Lenessa) Greer, four great-grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren, niece, Annette Nago, godson, Michael Green, goddaughter, Crystal Dixon, special friends Carrie Holston, Delores Shorter, and Helen Shy and a host of other relatives, friends and many, many adopted children.