Barbara (Stevens) Marxer obituary

July 29, 2015 12:00 am

MISSOULA – Barbara Lynn (Stevens) Marxer, 67, of Missoula, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 25, 2015, at home surrounded by her family after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.

She was born on March 18, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Frederick J. and Dorothy A. Stevens. As a young girl, Barbara accompanied her Air Force family to seven different stations over 21 years, ending in Great Falls. She graduated in 1966 from Custer County High School in Miles City. She then went on to graduate with a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Montana State University in 1970. She was blessed to meet the love of her life, Neal Marxer, while attending MSU.

On June 13, 1970, she married Neal Marxer, of Missoula in Great Falls. The couple immediately moved to Missoula, where Neal was employed at the Frenchtown paper mill. Barbara worked in Missoula as a nurse until starting her family in 1973 with the birth of her first daughter, Noel. A second daughter, Joanna, soon followed in 1977. She remained devoted to her family as a stay at home mother, and was very active in Holy Family Catholic Church, Christian Women’s Club of Missoula, and the Cursillo Movement. Barbara earned her second bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana in 1992, with a double major in social work and psychology.

After graduation, she joined the Missoula City-County Health Department and began her public health nursing career. At the health department, she advocated for underserved populations and retired in 2011. During this time, she also served as the parish nurse for Holy Family.

Barbara was blessed with her first granddaughter, Ryann Osterman, in 2005. Ryann’s brother Parker followed in 2007, and the family welcomed a second granddaughter, Lily Goodman, in 2010. She adored all her grandchildren with her entire heart, and spent her retirement caring for them and planning fun new activities each time they visited her. She also enjoyed creating a beautiful flower garden at her home, and scrapbooking.

Barbara and Neal joined St. Anthony Parish, and Barbara was instrumental in starting Family Promise of Missoula there, providing service to homeless families in Missoula. She had a generous heart, and a real spirit for helping those in need. During her career and volunteer work, she helped unwed and low-income mothers, HIV positive individuals, the poor and the homeless. She was an influential mentor, and inspired several women in their nursing careers including her sister Kim, her daughter Joanna, and several young mothers she met while working in public health.

Survivors include her husband, Neal of Missoula; daughter Noel (Darin) Osterman of Belt; daughter Joanna (Chuck) Goodman of Missoula; four sisters and their families, Kathy (John) Zeeck of Helena, Colleen Ryan of Phoenix, Lisa (Dean) Blomquist of Ryegate and Kim (Tom) Drynan of Vancouver, Washington, as well as her mother Dorothy A. Stevens of Vancouver; many nieces, nephews, cousins and three grandchildren.

A rosary vigil is scheduled at St. Anthony Catholic Church on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. in Missoula. A funeral Mass will follow on Monday, Aug. 3, at 11 a.m. at St. Anthony. Burial will follow Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m. in Great Falls at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Garden City Funeral Home is assisting the family.

The family sincerely thanks Hospice of Missoula for the loving care they provided during the months prior to her death.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Barbara’s name to: Hospice of Missoula, 800 Kensington Ave. No. 204, Missoula, MT 59801; Missoula Family Promise, PO Box 5882, Missoula, MT 59806.

Barbara Lynn (Stevens) Marxer obituary

Barking up the wrong tree...

Identified by Ruth Wellens, niece of Mary and Louise Marxer

The other day I logged onto Ancestry.com and was scrolling through recent activity when I came across this photo, posted by a distant cousin. "Aunt Louise" ie Louise Marxer; except I don't think it is Louise. I contacted my cousin and told her that I had this same photo and it was labeled "Mary Marxer". Mary and Louise were sisters and my grandfather, Edward Marxer, was their little brother.

I went digging through photo albums and boxes and found my copy of the photo so I could post it and my reasoning to my cousin. I also fished out other photos of Mary and posted them, as well. Then the wheels started turning and I began to remember snippets from research that I'd done years ago. More digging revealed photos of Louise and the story of how she and my grandmother, Marie Marxer (wife to Edward) where good friends. In fact, Louise was Marie's maid-of-honor and I had photos of that event. These are the only photos I've seen of Louise.

Identified by Marie Marxer, sister-in-law to Mary and Louise Marxer

Given that Grandma Marie Marxer was such good friends with Louise and later became sister-in-law to both Mary and Louise, I have to believe that she knew the identity of the person in the photograph. The neice, Ruth, knew them as well, but was much  younger and may have confused the two. I'll post more pics of both women and let you be the judge.

Now for the "barking up the wrong tree" end of this tale. The photo prompted me to delve into the family of Louise and I found her married to Harold B. Hobbs. But my Harold and my cousin's Harold were not the same person. So I went looking for more proof and found their marriage record on Familysearch.org. This was the proof I needed to confirm that I had the right Harold, afterall. I could have to easily been lead down the wrong path, tracing a line that was not related in any way, shape or form. I've posted all my findings on Ancestry and am happy to note that my cousin is making corrections, as I would have done, had the table turned the other way. Its not about being right, its about recording what is true and accurate.

Ok, now for more pics of Mary and Louise Marxer.

Louise Marxer 1935

Louise Marxer 1935

Louise Marxer 1935

Louise Marxer 1935

Mary Marxer

Mary Marxer



Mary Marxer

Mary Marxer

Thank You Sister Noreen! Amanuensis Monday

Way back in November I posted about my great-great aunt Martina Marxer. Martina was a nun with the Sisters of the Precious Blood in OH and died in 1939. I tripped across her death certificate one day and decided to find out a bit more. I sent an email to the convent and hoped to hear back. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays I received a very nice email from Sister Noreen of the convent archives. She promised to look into my requests ASAP. Today I received a brief summary of Martina's time at the convent.

CPPS Archives
Sisters of the Precious Blood
Dayton OH

Name: Sister M. Gabriela Marxer, CPPS
Birth Name: Martina
Birth: March 29, 1862, Eschen. Lichtenstein
Father's Name: Andrew Marxer
Mother's Name: Anna Schaechle
Entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood: March 12, 1883, Maria Stein, Ohio
Received as a novice: February 18, 1885, Maria Stein, Ohio
Profession: March 10, 1888, Maria Stein, Ohio
Ministry: Domestic Arts [included cooking, gardening, making hosts, making rugs and care of orphans]
Died: July 15, 1939, New Riegel, Ohio
Buried: New Riegel, Ohio
Cause of death: Stroke

Note: There are different versions of the spelling of the family name: Marxer, Merxer, Merxes. Some records also show the name of Sister Gabriela [her given religious name] was not always used but the name of Sister Martina, her birth name.

From CPPS Archives
Date: March 15, 2012
CPPS Archivist

The story of Sister Martina Marxer

Death Certificate of  Sister M. Martina Marxer
1862-1936
source Familysearch.org

Here we have the death certificate of M. Martina Gabriela Marxer. She was born on 29 Mar 1862 to Andreas and Anna Marie Marxer, in Eschen Liechtenstein. She was my great grandfather, Joseph Marxer's sister. She came to the US with her father and siblings in 1884 and lived, for a time in St. Paul MN. By 1926 she was living in New Riegel, Seneca County, OH as a Catholic Nun with the Sisters of the Precious Blood. Her death certificate states that at the age of 72 and suffering from senility, she was working the garden of the convent in 108 degree temperatures  She suffered heat stroke and died. I find this scenario so sad. I've sent a request to the archives department of the Sisters of the Precious Blood for any other information, stories or photos they may have of Sister Martina Marxer. I hope to hear something very soon.

Workday Wednesday...Joseph Marxer and Crew Make Hay.

Has No Crop Faliures
Meisenbach, Mont. Nov. 11, 1901.
Left Minnesota in 1890 for Great Falls. In 1893 settled on 160 acres, homestead, and afterwards bought 80 acres more. Had 1,250 bushels of wheat off 40 acres; 19 acres of oats, 900 bushels; 4 acres of rye, 112 1/2 bushels; 300 sacks of potatoes off 3 acres-about 1 1/2 bushel to a sack. Have 42 head of cattle, 11 horses, 5 hogs and 100 chickens. Seeded 10 acres to timothy [hay] last spring and intend to seed 10 acres more. Fair farm buildings. Crops are good enough for me without irrigation and have never had a crop failure. Sell my grain to the Royal Mill at Great Falls at good prices. Farming pays in Cascade county, and I am satisfied with the climate, crops, and people. 
Yours truly,
Joseph Marxer


taken from the "Great Northern Bulletin" and published in the Great Falls Tribune, Sunday, February 23, 1902


type written copy found among the papers of the Edward Marxer estate.

Joseph Marxer's Land Patent

Workday Wednesday – a way to document your ancestors’ occupations (they weren’t all farmers), transcripts of SS-5s, photos and stories of ancestors at work, announcements of retirements, etc. This prompt has been suggested by Denise Spurlock of the Denise’s Life in the Past Laneand Reflecting on Genealogy blogs.

Katherine Marxer's Obituary

Kathrine Marxer

click to enlarge

F. Joseph Marxer 

click to enlarge

Sunday go to Meeting

March 10 - What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn't they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity?

Katherine (Wanger) Marxer

Great grandma Katherine Marxer lived out in the country on the family homestead with husband Joseph and 14 children. There wasn't a church nearby and a trip to town was an overnight affair, so they worshiped at home. The Marxer's were from Eschen Liechtenstein and were Catholic. Katherine kept a Bible by her favorite chair and they would all gather upstairs to pray every night.

Johanna "Jennie" (Felt) Borgreen

Johanna Borgreen came from Sweden, so naturally, she was Lutheran. I posted about her prayer book earlier this week. It's written in Swedish but tucked in between the pages are clippings from an American newspaper of little Bible verses. So the book is something that she kept close to her and used regularly even after coming to the U.S. Mom told me that they belonged to the Lutheran church in Great Falls.

I'm not sure if or how any of my female ancestors served their church, but some research of church records in Great Falls will probably tell the tale. I'll add that to my list of things to look for in the future.

Email from Liechtenstein

Cousin Rainer came through again!


"Ferdinand Marxer (died:  5th January 1726 and his wives Anna Maria Thöni (died 9th October 1678) and Barbara Schächle (died: 1st September 1721). With Barbara Schächle he had 8 children. One oft them is Georg Marxer (born: 4th January 1686). Georg married Katharina Jehli (died: 18th March 1729). They had seven children. One oft them is Ferdinand Marxer (born 8th October 1719). His wife Barbara Batliner (there is no date in the book). They had seven children. One of them is Johann Georg Marxer (born: 8th January 1751   died: 6th April 1829). His wife is Maria Anna Hasler (born:  15th February 1754). The rest you know: Johann Georg Marxer (born: 8th January 1751 …. And so on."


He added another three generations to the Marxer line and we broke the 1600's barrier! When I set out on this journey, I never dreamed we'd go back so far. Huge thanks to Rainer, again. He makes this all seem so easy. Now it's back to the FHC and more microfilmed church records. Must find the documents to accompany all this new information.

A New Little Branch on the Family Tree

My new little niece arrived late last night. A new baby to carry on the family line.
I look at that little face and I see all the past generations along with the hope of the
future. Welcome, Little One. You are well loved, already

Mystery Monday.....I've found you Andrew!

1900 Federal Census

Today just confirms further why it's so important to search the collateral lines. I've been searching for my great great grandfather Andrew Marxer. I knew he came to the US in the 1880's and that he stayed in MN while his son Joseph, my great grandfather came to MT. I knew there were at least two of Andrew's children with him in MN. What I didn't know is who he lived with in his later years. Through family information and a compiled county history I tracked down his son-in-law, Frank Nascher. Frank married Andrew's daughter Maria "Mary" and I found Andrew living with them until at least 1900. But I had to search for Frank Nascher to get any result. Andrew just wasn't showing up on the indexes. Evidence points to a 1909 death date for Andrew, so now I'll be searching St. Paul city directories for even more information. I've also located a MN death entry for an Andreas Marxer in the FHL catalog. I'll be ordering that film to make sure that it's really great great grandpa Andrew and to glean any more information I can find there.

Wedding Wednesday....Edward and Marie Marxer

Edward and Marie were my paternal grandparents. They were married on 24 Feb. 1936 at St. Ann's Cathedral in Great Falls MT. It was a small family wedding. The bride's maid was Louise Marxer, Edward's sister, and the best man was Mike Reddish. The wedding day was cold and the snow deep. The bride's bouquet of roses was frostbitten in the cold. The wedding party headed out to the ranch in the early afternoon. The car made it as far as Eden than needed to be towed by a team of horses the rest of the way. When they arrived at the house the whole community was there to greet the new bride. They played games, told round stories and tall tales and sang songs. Later they rolled the carpet up and pushed the furniture out of the way for an impromptu dance in the living room. They partied until the wee hours of the morning.

This story was told by Edward and Marie in the county history "A Century In The Foothills 1876-1976"

page 319

.

A Christmas Blessing from Liechtenstein

Imagine my delight and surprise when I opened my email today and found this:

Hello Jennie

I see you need a bit of help from your relatives from the Principality (Fürstentum) of Liechtenstein. I have seen your blog and you have difficulties to find the dates of birth und death of your ancesters. My mother's name of birth is Wanger. So I know the family trees of your paternal line (Marxer and Wanger). I'm related to your paternal great great grandpa (Franz Josef Marxer) and to your paternal great grandma ( Maria Katharina Marxer - Wanger)=>Written in German.

Maria Katharina Marxer (Wanger) was a sister of my great grandpa (Dominikus Wanger). She had 12 brothers and sisters but some of them died early.

Now the details: 

Andreas Marxer *12.10.1825 +01.01.1909  was married to Anna Schächle *25.07.1829 +09.01.1881. When Anrdeas (Andrew's) wife died, the whole family decided to emmigrate to the USA. 
In 1882 his son Franz Josef Marxer *15.09.1860 +03.09.1932 emmigrated first (St.Pauls Minesotta). Two years later (1884) his father and the other brothers an sisters followed.

Here the whole family:

Andreas Marxer *12.10.1825 +01.01.1909 and his wife Anna Schächle *25.07.1829 +09.01.1881 
Their children:=>They all went to St. Pauls
Franz Josef Marxer *15.09.1860 +03.09.1932 and his wife Maria Katharina Wanger *30.12.1862 +5.01.1935 
Martina Marxer *29.03.1862 (Her date of death is unknown)
Maria Ursula Marxer *03.05.1863 +24.10.1950 and her husband Franz Näscher *18.02.1859 (date of death unknown) =>he is from Liechtenstein too.
Wilhelm Marxer *03.07.1869 +02.08.1962 and his wife Frieda Brinekof (USA)


On the picture in the attachement you can see Katherine's brother Dominikus. 
On the coloured picture you can see Edward's cousin Julius Wanger (The old man on the left).
When you are interested, I can send you the family tree of both families (Marxer and Wanger). 
I also attach you the coat of arms of the Marxer family.


One thing that interests me. Does the house, that was built by Frank Joseph Marxer still exist? I would like to know, if he has built the house in the typical style that was common in those times in Liechtenstein. 

A short information to Liechtenstein:
Liechtenstein is a tiny independant state between Switzerland and Austria and is member of the United Nations. The offspring of those who went to America think that they came from Germany because their language is German, but they are not. Liechtenstein was attached to Germany until 1866. Then we were fully independant. Nowadays we work very close together with Switzerland. Our currency is Swiss Francs. 

The village they came from:
Andrew or Frank and Katherine lived in the village of "Eschen" . It is a very nice place in the Rhine valley. It rains a lot, but when the weather is nice, all is green, even in summer. When Andrew, Frank and Katherine left the house in Eschen they could see the mountains just in front of the house (picture attached). 

Greetings from Liechtenstein and with the best wishes for a happy new year

Rainer

Attached to this were some family photos the family coat of arms and a lovely shot of the village my ancestors came from. 

Marxer family coat of arms

To my newfound cousin in Liechtenstein, Danke. From the bottom of my heart.

Season's Greeting From Our House to Your House

Christmas Greeting from the Edward Marxer Family
circa late 1940's

I found this lovely vintage holiday greeting in the box of photos and memorabilia that I received when Grandma Marie Marxer passed away in 2000.

There is no handwriting on the greeting, in fact I think this was the prototype to their holiday card. The car in the front leads me to believe that this was sent out sometime in the late 1940's. I have photos of the family all gathered around a similar car from that time period.

The house was built by Great Grandpa, Joseph Marxer, on land that he homesteaded in the 1890's.
He received his land patent in 1898. Grandpa, Edward Marxer, was born in this house. My dad, Gary Marxer and his brothers were raised there and I spent many happy times visiting, the old homestead as a child. I can still hear the SWACK of the wooden screen door slamming as someone ran in or out. I can hear the wind rustling through the grass and trees. I can see, in my mind's eye, the cloud of dust from the road as someone drove by and everyone stopping to gawk to see who it was. That gawking habit dies hard. My dad  is still a gawker and his brother Neal, who lives right next door to me, gawks every time I leave my driveway. It makes me smile to see the old days and the old ways still carrying on.

Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!

Wedding Wednesday

Albert and Elina Johnson
June 27, 1913

Joseph and Katherine Marxer
May 27, 1884

These are my paternal great grandparents. 

Joseph and Katerine Marxer were married in St. Paul MN in 1884. They lived there for a couple of years before coming west to homestead near Great Falls MT. Joseph was a stone mason and helped to build many structures in and around Great Falls. He built the home that he and Katherine would raise their family in with his own two hands. They eventually went into farming, but when Joseph had to go to town for work or supplies, he'd walk the 10+ miles in order to save on livery fees for the horses. When he returned home, he'd carry all the food and supplies for his family on his back. Joseph and Katherine had 15 children over the years. My grandfather, Edward Marxer was the youngest of this bunch. When Edward married my grandmother, Marie, they took over the ranch and lived there with their own children until they retired. I spent many happy times at the ranch and rambling around the old house and all the many acres of property. I would often run down the gravel road to the old stone school house that Joseph helped to build and that his children attended. Even as a small child I knew that the history of that place was rich. I haven't been there for many years, but the memories are vivid in my mind.

Albert and Elina Johnson were married in 1913. Albert came from Sweden in 1890. Elina was born in Red Lodge MT in 1894. They met and married in Red Lodge and raised their two daughters in Roberts Montana.

Albert was a farmer by trade. Interestingly, I know little about him as a person but have a pedigree chart from a cousin that traces his family back 7 generations. There is also a long and quite detailed compiled family history on the Johnsons that mainly covers the story of his parents and their arrival and life in MT. Albert and Elina died in the 1960's and my hope is that my dad and his brothers can shed some light on what they were like as people.