February 18, 2026, 89, Mount Olive – Mrs. Margaret Jones Kornegay, at the age of 89, found rest with the Lord Wednesday, February 18, 2026, as she was being cared for at Spring Arbor Assisted Living Center in Kinston.
Mrs. Kornegay, a long-time resident of the Summerlin’s Crossroads community near Mount Olive, had attended B. F. Grady School. She worked at National Spinning Company at Warsaw for more than 20 years. Following that, she worked with the Bobby Kelly family at Kelly’s Little Mart where she sold fish, graded eggs, and worked in tee-shirt sales.
She began worshipping the Lord with the congregation at Garner’s Chapel Baptist Church, followed by Brock’s Chapel Holiness Church, and later at Stanford Presbyterian Church of which she was a member at the time of her passing.
Mrs. Kornegay is survived by her children, Donna Stroud Rouse and husband, L. R. Rouse, of Mount Olive, Rodney Stroud and wife, Laurie, of Princess Anne, Maryland, and Lewis Bernice “L. B.” Kornegay and life partner, Tom Graffeo, of Columbus, Ohio; a special family member, Nellie Adams, of Goldsboro; grandchldren, Melanie R. Smith and husband, Steven, Christopher Rouse, and Heather R. Kelly and husband, Reid, Kellie Stroud and partner, Mark Hansen, Meghan Stroud and husband, Jose Nava, Tricia Metcalf, and Seth Place and partner, Ryan Whittington; 16 great-grandchildren’ several great-great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and several cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Clifford Bernice “C. B.” Kornegay; a daughter, Jennifer Stroud; her parents, Harvey and Alice Herrring Jones; a brother, Delmus Jones and wife, Ruby; and a sister, Thelma J. Mozingo and husband, Ernest.
The life of Mrs. Margaret Kornegay will be remembered in a service on Tuesday, February 24, at 6:00 p.m. at Tyndall Funeral Home, and will be officiated by Pastor Dave Fishman. The family will receive friends at the funeral home after the service. A private interment will be in the Devotional Gardens at Warsaw.
