Margaret Carlson

Margaret Elizabeth Anderson was born July 28, 1925 in Erie, Pennsylvania and was the daughter of Carl and Tekla Anderson. Margaret's parents, Carl Reinhold Anderson and Tekla Elizabeth Swensson, were immigrants from Sweden arriving in the States, so she was 1st generation. She had two older brothers, Carl and Robert, who both served in World War II. Robert was a POW. While a young child, the doctor detected that Margaret's right leg was somewhat shorter than the left, and in an effort to correct it, weights were used, possibly even a brace. In any event, she lived a normal childhood life – she played hopscotch, jumped rope, roller skated, walked, etc. She attended a Swedish Baptist church where she was baptized. There she played the piano and sang in a girls' trio. She and her family participated in the Baptist conferences and there she played the piano and sang. At one time, Margaret took lessons on the pipe organ but she did not pursue it. While in high school she sang in the choir. After graduation in 1943 she spent some time clerking in a local department store, but she had higher ambitions. She enrolled in a commercial college and became proficient in shorthand and typing. That led to a position at a local manufacturing company. After a short time she became the secretary to the President. She continued in that position until she was married. Don and Margaret were married September 17, 1949 and their original home was a small apartment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their first child (Janet) was born there. From there they moved to several locations in Pennsylvania where David, Karen and Judy were born. A change in Don's company position brought them to Denver in 1963. In Denver Margaret was a volunteer in the Red Cross office, and during the flood of 1965, she was assigned a position at Alameda and Santa Fe to help with the relief work. In addition, every Monday was volunteer work, first at the front desk at Swedish Medical Center where she also coordinated the efforts of the Candy Stripers. Then she did volunteer work at Porter Memorial Hospital, where she worked the front desk. She volunteered for approximately a total of 30 years or more at these hospitals. Margaret was active in church work, and attended original Bible studies conducted by Ruth Hickman and Marilyn Hickey. She made several evangelical trips with Ruth Hickman to the neighboring states. Margaret and Don enjoyed traveling. They visited Sweden and saw the actual home where her mother was born and lived. They traveled to Israel twice and on one trip in 1975, they were both baptized in the Jordan River. In 1963 she and her family became charter members of Faith Presbyterian Church of Aurora. Later in 1996, Don and Margaret became charter members of Colorado Community Church. To give a perspective on Margaret's medical history: In 1984 she learned of a doctor who could operate on her right hip to correct the shortness of her leg which was between three to four inches shorter than the other. The operation was a success and reduced the shortness to about an inch. Then in 1993 another operation was performed because the shaft originally implanted had come loose. During the procedure, the surgeon discovered that Margaret did not have a socket for her hip bone. He was able, using bone from the bone bank, to construct a socket and attached the leg bone. This resulted in a shortness of approximately one inch. That situation was fine until 2005 when Margaret entered a rehabilitation facility after an illness. The screws that held the leg in place became loose and a separation took place. Thus the condition that Margaret had while at Harvard Square. She was able to walk with an elevated shoe and a walker but it was quite uncomfortable. Margaret took joy in participating in the activities at Harvard Square whether it was bingo, happy hour (dancing with Phil and Judy), Bible study, Prime Fit with Derek, discussion group, arts and crafts, water color class and especially WII Bowling when she achieved the Gobble-Gobble Dance. Margaret was a beautiful, gifted person. She never had an unkind word and truly loved the Lord. She went home to be with Him on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Please share your memories of Margaret and condolences with her family by clicking on the ""Sign Guestbook"" link below.