Margaret "Marge" Lucille Curtis

Margaret “Marge” Lucille Curtis, 98, passed away on April 7, 2023, at Taylor House. She was born on November 10, 1924, to George and Edith Ashby of Norwood, Iowa. She attended Norwood Consolidated School and upon graduation married Verne Curtis on June 1, 1942. She and Verne first lived in Omaha and both worked at Offutt AFB. They bought a house in Plymouth and sold it when they moved to Alameda, California in 1945 for Verne’s job during the War. At the end of the War, they moved back to Omaha for Verne’s job and then transferred to Des Moines in 1951.

While in Des Moines she worked for many years at Meredith Publishing. She worked various jobs and the last being for the Des Moines School system where she was first a part-time “teachers’ clerk” and later became a full-time payroll clerk. Their son, Mark was born in 1963, and after he became school age, Marge worked mother’s hours at Merrill Middle School, retiring from there.

Marge and Verne were married for 21 years before they had Mark, and he was with them for 21 years before so sadly passing away from cancer.

Marge and Verne were square dancers. She sewed her own fancy dresses and Verne was a caller. They liked the water and had a boat for water skiing, boating, and fishing. They vacationed at Bull Shoals Lake in the Ozarks and Clear Lake and remodeled an old farmhouse at Lake Rathbun where they spent many happy weekends as a family out in nature boating and bird watching. She did some lovely needlework projects reflecting nature.

She liked watching basketball and her favorite TV program was “The Price Is Right”. Her favorite books were the James Herriot series “All Creatures Great and Small”. She preferred ironing over cooking but she made really great apple pies.

Marge is survived by her brother-in-law, Robert McKinley; 9 nieces and nephews; numerous great and great-great nieces and nephews; and a very special friend and neighbor of 62 years, Kazue Rauch.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Verne; son, Mark; siblings, Alice (Clarke) Shaw, Ardys (Victor) Curtis, Marion (Norma) Ashby, and Charlene McKinley; and nephew, Brian Ashby.

The family will greet friends on Friday, April 14, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home, 5400 SW 9th Street followed by a memorial service at 12:00 p.m. also at the funeral home. Marge will be laid to rest at Norwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Westminster Presbyterian Church in loving memory of Marge.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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