After a fatal crash, this Beaufort woman is remembered for her ‘servant’s heart’

An 81-year-old Beaufort woman who died in a car crash last week is being remembered as a servant and an advocate for children.

Margaret Fyfe died in a crash at Robert Smalls Parkway and Parris Island Gateway about 4 p.m. on Dec. 23.

Fyfe was a long-time volunteer with the Child Abuse Prevention Association of Beaufort, said CAPA executive director Christina Wilson.

"Margaret Fyfe had a servant's heart,” Wilson said Thursday. “From the children and families she served for over 30 years, to the causes she fought so fiercely for, to the church community she served, Margaret was a gift to our community and will be greatly missed. She will be remembered by the CAPA family as an example of what true child advocacy looks like."

Fyfe, known to her CAPA family as “Miss Margaret,” and her husband, Roy Fyfe, have four children, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, Wilson said. The Fyfes were also licensed foster parents for many years, and Margaret had been a guardian ad litem with the 14^th Judicial Circuit since 1986, Wilson said.

"Margaret truly loved our kids,” said Tina Kuhn, CAPA director of residential services. “The Open Arms Home was one of her true life passions. You could see it when she volunteered, when she spent time getting to know our residents, when she contributed to field trips, or when she traveled across the state to visit children on her caseload.”

“No task was too small; she would just jump in and help in any way she could,” Kuhn continued. “The shelter has lost a devoted member of our family."

At CAPA, Fyfe volunteered as a live-in house parent and relief childcare worker in the Open Arms Children’s Home, Wilson said. She also served on the board of directors for the organization for some time.

Outside of the organization, Fyfe was a member of The Parish Church of St. Helena's; and also participated in Washington Street Park Ministries, Colonial Dames and the Garden Club, Wilson said.

Fyfe was always willing to lend a hand in the community outside of organizations as well, Wilson said, adding, “She never shied away from ‘walking the walk,’ even as she aged.”

Fyfe died in a two-vehicle crash in which she was a passenger, Beaufort Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Hope Able said Thursday afternoon. The vehicle in which she was traveling, driven by an 85-year-old man, failed to yield the right-of-way while making a left turn from Robert Smalls Parkway onto Parris Island Gateway and was struck in the passenger side by an oncoming vehicle traveling east on Robert Smalls Parkway, driven by a 26-year-old man, Able said.

Both drivers were injured and transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, but the extent of their injuries was not available Thursday.

No criminal charges or traffic citations have been made or are pending at this time, Able said.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 5:11 PM with the headline "After a fatal crash, this Beaufort woman is remembered for her ‘servant’s heart’."