Marjorie Eleanor Hansler

of 89. She was born on January 20, 1934 in a small farmhouse near Des Moines, Iowa. She

spent her early years on the farm with her parents and 3 older siblings, Dorothy 6yrs older,

Glenn 10 yrs older and Lawrence 12 years older. Her family lost the farm during the depression

and moved closer into the city, and then at age 9 her family moved to Vancouver WA where her

father found a job in sales.

She excelled in school and loved being involved in a variety of extracurricular clubs including

student government, glee club, drama and choir. Margie worked very hard to get good grades

which paid off! She was accepted into the University of Washington and began her freshman

year of college in the fall of 1952. She majored in Home Economics and met many life long

friends while attending there. One of the highlights of this season in her life was the trip she took

to Europe after graduation with three of her friends. All young women who had just graduated

together planned a wonderful bike riding trip through Belgium and other countries. Once over

there, they realized that biking was not as fast and convenient as they thought it would be, so

they decided to hitch hike the remainder of the trip. None of them told their mothers. ;)

After graduation Margie was hired at Bellevue High School to teach their clothing construction

classes. She loved her position there and loved her students. The next fall she was very

pleasantly surprised when a new, young, good looking science teacher was hired. On the first

day of school when he couldn’t figure out where to store the frogs that had just been delivered

for his biology class, he made his way down to the home ec department where Margie politely

interrupted his conversation with an older colleague and told him that he could store his frogs in

their refrigerator ANY time. :) That was the day that Margie met Don Hansler. They went on a

date that Friday, had dinner together most nights after that, and just three weeks later on a hike

up at Mt Rainier, they decided to get married. Don was the first one to lovingly call Margie,

Marge.

Both Don and Marge continued teaching (but at different schools) and in 1963 their daughter

Sandi was born. A couple years later they were expecting again and this time they were certain

it was going to big a BIG boy. Much to their surprise, twin girls were born a month earlier than

expected. Marge had no idea that she was pregnant with twins and almost died after child birth

because she had developed toxemia. Much effort was exerted by family members to get the

right medical care to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue. Marge woke up a week later with flowers in

her room not knowing what all had happened. A week later she, Laurie and Lisa all made it

safely home.

Having twins was very unexpected and was an adventure through which Marge met many

women she otherwise would not have met. She enjoyed being a member and officer of the

Eastside Mothers of Twins Club. She travelled to conferences, attended support meetings and

thoroughly enjoyed the journey. She was involved with the twins’ coop preschool and other

activities. In 1974, she returned to the University of Washington to update her teaching

certificate and added an emphasis in Early Childhood Development. After teaching one

semester of kindergarten at a Bellevue elementary school, she was rehired by Bellevue High

School for her prior position as Home Economics teacher. She was ecstatic! This time around,

not only did she teach sewing, but also Foods & Nutrition, and she also helped found a co-op

preschool that was located on the campus of Bellevue High School! She happily taught at BHS

until she retired in 1994.

During the many years she was raising a family and teaching she also enjoyed many wonderful

activities with friends and family members! She had an adventurous side to her and she loved

the outdoors so salmon fishing frequently with friends during the summer out at Sekiu WA was a

perfect fit! She enjoyed the family's annual camping trip to Riffe Lake, and during the time that

she and Don lived in Issaquah, they hosted innumerable summertime beach picnics, sometimes

several picnics per week. She was a fantastic hostess! She loved sewing and gained a lot of

pleasure by sewing special projects for her family and grandchildren! She also had a knack of

capturing memories in the many family photo albums that she created which will be cherished

for years to come.

Upon retirement Marge enjoyed doing some traveling with Don. She also became a Mary Kay

consultant which she excelled at and loved. She loved the camaraderie with other women, the

goal setting and helping other women feel pampered and special.She loved traveling to

conferences with her daughter Sandi and believed in Mary Kay’s philosophy of empowering

women.

Marge will be missed by so many. She always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

She was a wonderful listener and confidant. She loved being pampered but she also enjoyed

the simplicity of life that was found in nature, in friendships and in family. She was a woman of

faith and understood that with God all things were possible. A couple of her favorite sayings

included, “Happiness isn’t having what you want, but wanting what you have.” And “It was

meant to be!”

She is survived by her three daughters and their husbands, Sandi & Kraig Gillman, Laurie &

David Johnson and Lisa & Paul Werner; her six grandchildren, AnneMarie Rayam (Jibreel),

Lane Gillman (Ashley), Grant Gillman (Shannon), Robert Humphres, Julianne Werner and Katie

Werner, and her 4 great grandchildren Rubi and Stella Rayam (AnneMarie), Brooks Gillman

(Lane) and Remington Gillman (Grant). She is now in the loving arms of both Jesus and her

husband Don who preceded her in death. She is free from pain and suffering forever.

**A Celebration Of Life will be held for Marge on Saturday, November 4th at 2 pm at:

South Hill Christian Church

12311 151st St E

Puyallup WA 98374

**In lieu of flowers please make donations to:

https://connect.virginiamasonfoundation.org/vmfh-donation

1. Please click on Franciscan Hospice House General Fund

2. Below that, find “tribute type”

3. Choose “in memory of”

4. Type in Marge Hansler