Margie was welcomed to her forever home by Christ on December 19, 2017. Although she will be dearly missed, she now enters into the peace and rest she has trusted her Savior for all these years. Through Christ, her old, tired and suffering body has been changed to completeness and wholeness anew. Hallelujah!
Almost 96 years ago, Margie was born to John Frank Kellerman and Leila Belle Sprague in Eaton, Colorado. Margie was only 6 years old when her mother died of pneumonia shortly after childbirth. Her father never remarried but dedicated himself to raising his 4 daughters and infant son. Times were tough, and John moved his family frequently to follow jobs primarily in the Weld County area. Everything they owned fit into the back of a truck or wagon and could be moved in short order.
As a young woman, Margie met handsome Richard Imhof at a local dance. They married in 1943 while Dick was home on leave during WWII and Fort Lupton has been their home ever since. Once the war ended and Dick was home safely, they started their family. Betty Jo came along first in 1947, followed by Donald Ray 4 years later, and finally Susan...[more]
lly Susan Kay in 1954. Margie saw to it that the children were raised attending the First Baptist Church in Fort Lupton. Margie was fiercely dedicated to her husband and children.
On return from the service, Dick worked for Roy and Ann Anderson at Anderson Oil Company. Although Dick only had an 8th-grade education and Margie only had a 6th-grade education, Dick and Margie bought the Anderson Oil Company and ran it successfully the next 24 years. Margie did all of the bookkeeping connected to the thriving business. Margie and Dick retired from daily operation of the business in 1987. In retirement, they enjoyed frequent and random road trips together.
Margie has always had a heart for other others, as given to her by her precious Jesus, and nurtured by her father. Her father, in appearance a tough German, encouraged Margie to share what little they had and to keep an eye out for those less fortunate. She was taught to treat all people as children of God and to offer compassion and understanding. She knew that were it not for God's grace, anyone could make insufferable mistakes and need to be offered forgiveness. When wronged herself, she always chose to forgive and let go. She was quick to entertain family and friends with an open door and a cup of hot tea. In younger days she would always gather the extended families together for summer picnics in the backyard.
Margie had a lot of common sense, a sharp and curious mind, a "can-do" attitude, and a resilient nature. She did all manner of things successfully. Beyond raising children and being a full-time bookkeeper, she found time to do things like upholster furniture, and make paper mache puppets and jointed stuffed bears. She knitted, crocheted, embroidered, and quilted. She was quietly very proud of the totally hand stitched quilts she made for each of the family members. She was truly a Proverbs 31 woman.
Margie leaves a legacy broad and deep for her children and for generations to come. By her life as an example, she has taught us to love extravagantly, to forgive and forget, to always hope for and believe the best of another person, to value the person above their behavior, to always live so that you can be proud of your actions and behavior. Over her lifetime she laid a foundation of wise choices and did not allow life's circumstances to define her. Rather, she would always choose what was right, what was good, what was Christ-like.
Margie's intent and motion was always toward life and living. Consequently, growing old and accepting those limitations were hard for her. She would often say "It is harder to grow old than it was to grow up!". This coming from a woman whose whole family and life fit in the back of a wagon as a child! Margie moved through life quietly and in an unassuming manner but has given far more than she will ever know. Margie's life, indeed, was a life well lived.
Margie is preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings. She is survived by her three children; Betty Taylor of Longmont, Don (Myra) Imhof of Central City, Nebraska, and Susie Sutherland (Paul Patzkowsky) of Longmont; 5 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
The family asks that memorials be sent to Meals on Wheels, PO Box 62, Fort Lupton, Colorado 80621. 303-857-6460.