Margaret D. Wedemeyer

Margaret D. Wedemeyer Born on July 20, 1924 Parents: Lena Licking Wiggins and Elmer B. Wiggins Preceded in death by her Mother Lena Bashaw, Father Elmer Wiggins, Brother Ralph Wiggins and Sister Jean Baer Margaret was born in the Great Depression Era which taught her to live simply. She grew up in a family who farmed with a team of horses and a spring wagon in Nebraska Sand Hills. She rode behind her father to school on the back of his horse. She brought her lunch in a little pot, and water in a syrup jar due to lack of running water. This school first sparked her love of learning, and she became a teacher in a one-room sod schoolhouse where she taught the first through the eighth grades. Her school was located just south of Seneca, Nebraska and was heated only by a pot-belly stove. She moved from Nebraska to Fort Collins, Colorado and began working at United Airlines Modification Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Though she was very diligent in her work, faith was very important to Margaret (or Margy, as her family knew her). She was baptized and attended the American Baptist Church on Shields Street, In Fort Collins, Colorado. Her faith seemed to always be a smoldering warmth which guided her actions in life. She was rarely angered, and kept a calm and dignified demeanor. She moved to Hanford Washington where she worked in a defense plant. She met and married Orland K. Wedemeyer on Jan 7th of 1945 and returned to Nebraska, later traveling to Delaware, Ohio after her husband joined the army. She supported the war efforts by working in a munitions plant. Though her marriage did not last, her love of life bloomed when she returned to Fort Collins. She worked for Colorado State University in the Food Services Department from 1964 to 1987. She kept a robust garden and grew vegetables, raspberries, and numerous flowers. Visiting family would comment on how her garden looked like a page out of The Secret Garden as they passed through an arch covered in white roses. She lived a peaceful life, keeping a small house and painting in her garden. She grew her talent for art and pottery by taking classes at CSU, and she traveled by bus to the ocean when she craved adventure. She never drove or owned a car, and never apologized for it. Instead, she walked to her local destinations admiring the day as it unfolded around her. Though she warmed slowly to strangers, she was fiercely close to her sibling and their families. Her sister Jean was always by her side, even following Margy to the Greeley Place, an independent living facility in Greeley, Colorado. When her nieces and nephews were growing up, she would create new and exciting activities for them during their summer visits to her house. She was always beloved by her nieces, nephews and their wonderful children. To some of the children of her nieces and nephews, she was known as ‘Grandma Margy.’ She spread her love of reading and art to her adopted grandchildren and walked them to preschool at Jack and Jill’s in Fort Collins. She watched them learn to swim and grow. She walked with them through childhood, pointing out paw prints in the cement sidewalks and cultivating in them an appreciation for the quiet beauty of nature. Margaret passed away at Bonnell Good Samaritan Nursing Home with her niece, Jill, by her side. To some, she may have seemed lonely in life, but to those who knew her well, she was content in her solitude. She remains in the hearts of the family and friends who survive her, and is at peace in the gardens of heaven.

Tributes

Margaret D. Wedemeyer

July 20, 1924 - January 10, 2018