Marguerite Isaac Botton

Marguerite Isaac Botton passed away suddenly, but peacefully, at the age of 84 on Friday, April 10 in Denver, Colorado.

Born Marguerite Isaac in September 1935 in San Francisco, CA, she grew up in Westwood and Redding California with her parents LeRoy and June Isaac, and siblings LeRoy and Lynn. Peggy embraced the rural life, developing a lifelong love of animals, and excelled at school. She graduated from Shasta High School in 1953, and continued her studies at UC Berkeley, where she met her future husband Irving Botton.

Marguerite and Irv married in 1955 and moved to Kansas City, MO where Irv worked in the crime lab and they started their family with the first of five daughters. They then moved to Pittsburgh where their family continued to grow with daughters two through four. Marge juggled four kids under five while Irv earned his PhD. In 1964, they made a last move to Albany, NY where they added daughter number 5 and settled in to raise their family.

Marge always stressed the importance of education, leading by example by not only finishing her undergraduate, but also earning her Masters degree in 1978 from SUNY Albany. This was especially admirable at a time when advanced degrees were not common for women. An avid reader - she was never far from a book or, in her later years, crossword puzzles.

The ultimate hands on Mom, Marge was proud of her reputation as the Mom that scared everyone! For those that were lucky enough to have her as a Girl Scout Leader, tutor or Sunday school teacher, they knew behind the stern exterior was an enormous, caring, funny and unique heart!

As her girls grew older, Marge found her true passion – teaching. She became a fixture at Colonie Central High School where she became a permanent substitute and tutor. Hundreds of kids owe their passing grades to her ability to teach not only what to learn – but how to learn it. She loved the challenge of teaching different subjects. Her passion and skill earned her the respect of admin, faculty and students. She became a diehard fan of High School Basketball and spent many nights cheering on the Lady Raiders.

With retirement, Marge became the traveling grandma. Having raised five strong women whose lives took different paths; her girls were scattered around the globe. She would travel to visit them, usually bringing her eldest granddaughter along for the ride.

After years of regular visits to Colorado, in 2016 Marge and Irv decided to split their time between Albany and Greenwood Village, where they lived under the amazing care of their daughter Diana.

While dementia started taking her memories, she would still sing along and provide harmony to her favorite songs, win every trivia game and greet everyone she saw with a friendly ‘hello – how are you?' In the end, she always had a smile and an ‘I love you' for Irv as they sat in their chairs and held hands.

She is survived by her husband Irving Botton, her sister Lynn Gilliss (Ron), sister Bonnie Rightmeir (Virgil), her five daughters, Valerie Couch, Carole Serson, Diana Botton, Cynthia Cannon (Don), Debra (Jonathan Spors), eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends and students. A devout Lutheran, Marge is blessed to be re-joining her parents, Grandmother, brother LeRoy Isaac, nephew Seph Lorton, and son-in-law Bruce Serson.

Marge will be buried on Friday, April 17 at Ft Logan Military cemetery in Colorado. No service will be held at this time. A celebration of life is being planned for November.