Obituary of Margaret Emma Scheurich

NA Margaret Emma Scheurich Margaret M. Scheurich, 98, was born June 4, 1912 in Los Angeles California, and died May 6, 2011 in Olympia, Washington. She is survived by her five children, Michael, Margaret Rae, Janice, Barbara & Charles James, 2 sisters, Vivian & Betty and 8 grandchildren & 9 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bernard C. Scheurich, and her sister, Mildred. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara in Art Education. She lived 60 years in Longview, raising her family, before moving to the Olympia area in 2002. The Family suggests memorials to donations to Hospice. Please be sure to leave your remembrances in the guestbook below. EULOGY FOR MARGARET M. SCHEURICH Mom died 1 month short of her 99th birthday. She was born in Los Angeles on June 4th, 1912 to Arthur & Lupe Mahler – the 1st of 4 girls. She grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley in CA, graduated from Santa Ynez HS. She earned money for her college education, as a “mother’s helper” shopping, cleaning & babysitting. She attended UC Santa Barbara earning a degree in Art Education. After college, Mom got a job teaching art at RA Long HS in Longview. There she met Bernard Scheurich, and when she was 27, they were married at the Santa Barbara Mission, November 23, 1939. Bernard and his Dad had a thriving grocery business on Ocean Beach Hwy. & her teaching profession soon took 2nd place, as her children began arriving -- Michael 1942, Margaret Rae 1944, Jan 1947 & Barbara 1949 & Jim in….. 1959. Life was very busy for Mom. She employed her art talents in many ways. For our ballet classes, she was commissioned to design and make costumes for various recitals. One year the dance studio put on the “The Nutcracker”. Barb was a rose; Jan was a daisy, in the “Waltz of the Flowers”. Their costumes involved elaborate headdresses with their faces being the center of the flower! I was a snow flake, all in white and glitter.. Dad commissioned her to make sale banners for the weekly grocery store add. She had this huge roll of butcher paper, she’d unroll a long piece, (it covered the dining room table), and with her red acrylic paint and 2” brush, write specials like: Arkansas Whole Chickens 25/lb!! These banners were laid out all over the floor, we had to be careful until they dried & rolled up! Another project: She was a 60 year member of St. Rose Parish in Longview. She made several cloth banners for the church altar. She even made a papal flag, all white and gold, that may still be hanging on its pole there. In her 50’s as Jim was growing, she was his Cub Scout leader. I remember her saying, “ 8 year old boys just aren’t very interested in crafts”…………. Which was her specialty.. I remember some letters I’d receive from her. I’d send her flowers for her birthday or Mothers Day, and soon I’d receive a card. In it, she would sketch out the whole flower arrangement, vase and all. So I knew what she got. It was beautiful how she could draw! She taught us many things – one being her interest in nutrition. She always made sure we had well balance meals, with meat, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. Dessert was usually fruit. Since we had the grocery store, she was always trying new things, exposing us to different foods. Although one half Castilian (her mom (grandma) came from Chihuahua Mexico. Mom didn’t carry on grandma’s tradition….beans and tortillas…. They were never on her menu. She’d say” I had too much of that growing up”. But today, we all love Mexican food. She also thought we needed to eat… Liver. Oh my goodness, we’d sit at the table for hours, just trying to get down a few bites…Sorry to say, that is one thing she couldn’t teach us ! Mom & Dad valued education for their children. We attended Catholic grade schools & high schools. They sent us to colleges and even a Medical school. When Dad had a stroke at 62, she was his tireless care giver for 23 years. Those were some difficult times, but she kept Dad moving by going out for lunch & dinner almost every day, which they both enjoyed. After Dad died, she traveled when she could – Jan took her on a train trip across Canada, seeing Niagara Falls & attended mass at the Cathedral in Toronto and heard a beautiful boy’s choir. She loved it….. And the train travel. In her later years, she enjoyed our visits, our family reunions at the Seaside, Oregon, her grand children & great grandchildren. We girls took her on several “girls get a way trips”, down the Oregon Coast and up to Victoria. She loved those times, as did we too …. Her activities in later years involved reading, knitting neck scarves; she loved bingo & putting together puzzles. She was a fast paced walker, always seemed in a hurry. We had to tell her to “slow down” even in her later years, while using the aid of a walker. She had a big sweet tooth for Hershey bars with Almonds! She had a great sense of humor and infectious laugh!! That’s our Mom. We love her and will miss her! In closing, we would really like to thank Florante & Norma, owners of NorFlor Manor, and all the great staff, Ana, Julie & Theresa. Their care and love, Florante’s delicious meals, was much comfort for us…. And Mom seemed very happy in their home. Thank you again.