Marjorie Virginia Bjorlo

Marjorie Virginia Bjorlo, 94, passed away gently and peacefully on September 5, 2016, at her home in Fort Collins, Colorado, surrounded by family and loved ones.

Marge was born at home on April 14, 1922, to Philip and Hattie May (Budnick) Dyer in Lead, South Dakota. She spent her youth in Lead where her father, her brother and her nephew all worked for the Homestake Gold Mine.

She attended college at Yankton, South Dakota, and was a graduate of the National School of Business in Rapid City prior to going to the west coast to work at the Puget Sound Navy Yard. There she met the love of her life, Lieutenant Commander Loyd Bjorlo, when she was working for the Navy as a bookkeeper in the receiving station in Bremerton, Washington. Three months later on November 16, 1945, in Seattle, Washing-ton they were married, and Marge began the life of a Navy wife. Loyd's 24 years in the Navy included tours of duty from Guam to Maine. The family finally settled down in Ft Collins in 1977.

Marge was a passionate volunteer. She knitted baby caps for newborns at Poudre Valley Hospital for 15 years, crocheted hundreds of blankets for the Linus Project, drove for Meals on Wheels for 28 years, volunteered in the Tech Department of the Fort Collins Public Library system, and, in her 90's, assisted with the updating of the library at her home church, Our Saviour's Lutheran.

Marge was preceded in death by her precious husband, Loyd, in 1989; her parents, Philip in 1968, and May in 1985; her infant brother Preston in 1925; and brother, Alvin in 2014. She is survived by her children: Philip (Sheila) Bjorlo of Leesburg, Virginia, Robin (Fred) Castor, Douglas (Pam) Bjorlo and Peter Bjorlo all of Fort Collins. She also leaves her very special "adopted daughter" Wanda Knauer who lovingly helped care for her for years. She is also survived by her five grandchildren: Jeremy (Jenn) Castor, Paul Bjorlo, Ben (Jessie) Bjorlo, Kristin (Josh) Gutknecht, and Eric Bjorlo.

There will be a Celebration of Life Service on October 1, 2016, at 11:00 am followed by a light lunch-eon at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 2000 South Lemay in Ft Collins. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Our Saviour's Lutheran or the charity of your choice in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. Since her home was never without pets, to honor her memory, please consider adopting a pet to enrich your life.
Here are some fun facts about Marge's life:

At the age of 5, wearing a lace curtain for a veil, she ran away with her next door neighbor across town to his grandmother's house so they could get married. She and Jack remained lifelong friends until his death in 2015. The family loved to tease her about her "first husband".

The construction of Mount Rushmore began in 1927, and Marge's parents took her to the construction site many times. She loved to share that she actually stood on the head of George Washington when the monument was under construction!

She sang the lead in Verdi's opera, Il Trovatore, when she was in high school. As an adult, she was a skilled pianist and organist.

Marge met Loyd on a double date. The problem was they were not matched to each other. The two figured out pretty quickly that they wanted to try dating again, but with each other next time. And the rest is family history.

Each of her four children was born in a different state or territory: Phil on Guam; Robin in Maine; Doug in New York; and Pete in Maryland.

Marge died on the 48th anniversary of her father's death at 1:48 as a warm breeze blew into her bedroom on a sunny September afternoon. Her sweet smile, loving kindness, gentle strength ad gracious presence will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her.