Rebecca Ruth Meagher, 96, passed away on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Friendship Manor, an assisted living facility located in Rebecca's home town of Rock Island, Illinois.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at the Knox Chapel of Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, 2106 7th Avenue Rock Island, Illinois, with visitation to be held from 1:30-2:30 pm. In lieu of sending flowers, donations may be sent in the memory of Rebecca Meagher to Friendship Manor (1209 21st Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois 61201).  Rebecca moved into Friendship Manor in September of 2017 and lived there through the date of her passing on March 14, 2024.

Rebecca was born on November 2, 1927 in Beech Creek, Kentucky, the daughter of Othniel and Edna (Hazelwood) Johnson, she was the oldest of five children.  She married Francis Leonard Meagher on May 6, 1948 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  Francis preceded her in death in October of 2004.

In Rebecca's early years, she worked at a button factory in Muscatine, Iowa. She later became a homemaker, staying home to raise the family's five children.  In addition to raising a family, Rebecca enjoyed baking, sewing, and listening to country music.

In the first eleven years of their marriage, Francis and Rebecca traveled from construction job to job throughout the northeastern and midwestern U.S., as Francis worked as a natural gas pipeliner.  Francis and Rebecca moved to Rock Island, Illinois in 1959, making it their permanent home.  Francis continued to travel to pipeline construction jobs for the remainder of his career, mostly in the midwestern U.S., while the family stayed put in Rock Island.

Those left to cherish Rebecca's memory include her children, Karen (Timothy) Kinney, Rock Island, Dennis (Diane) Meagher, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Lindsay (Sophie) Meagher, Redondo Beach, California and David Meagher, Warren, Michigan.  Rebecca is also survived by several grandchildren, several great grandchildren, and a sister, Tanis Gloe, St. Louis, Missouri.

In addition to her husband, Rebecca was preceded in death by her oldest son and his wife, Phillip (Polly) Meagher, by three of her four siblings, and by her parents.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.wheelanpressly.com.