Marjorie Lukecart, 1924-2019

Published 1:00 am Saturday, June 8, 2019

Funeral services for Marjorie Lukecart will be at 1 p.m. June 16 at First Presbyterian Church, 308 Water St. in Albert Lea. The Rev. Dwight Netzer will officiate. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery with military honors provided.

Marjorie Lukecart

Marjorie Lukecart, who is a World War II Navy veteran, passed away peacefully Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Coon Rapids. She was 95.

Marjorie (Everson) Lukecart was born in Albert Lea on March 11, 1924, to Lawrence and Ada (Fiene) Everson. She attended Albert Lea schools, graduating in 1941. She then attended the University of Minnesota for two and a half years, but left college to enlist in the U.S. Navy.

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She served at U.S. Naval Hospital at St. Albans in Long Island, New York, as a pharmacist’s mate, second class.

While there she was married to Kenneth Lukecart of Albert Lea, who was also in the Navy.

After the war Marge and Ken returned to Albert Lea to make their home and raise a family. Marge returned to college at Mankato State in 1952, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education and subsequently taught elementary school in Alden and Albert Lea for 16 years. She also earned a master’s degree in counseling and then a specialist degree in special education administration. She became the first full-time director of special education and federal Title I programs in District 241, serving for 14 years and retiring in 1986.

Over the years Marge was a member of the local, state and national education associations, the Minnesota Administrators of Special Education and Phi Delta Kappa honorary fraternity. She was also a member of American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters, the Women Veterans of Freeborn County, the Freeborn County Historical and Genealogical societies, and was an original member of the Albert Lea Community Band, where she played saxophone and solos until age 90! She served as a deacon and then an elder of the Presbyterian church. Marge also served on several advisory boards over the years, including Alpha School, Woodvale V, Freeborn County Nurses Advisory Board, the United Way, Civic Music and the Intercultural Education Advisory Board.

Marge is survived by four children, Susan Officer of Peyton, Colorado, Brian (Diane) Lukecart of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Barbara (Randy) Nicholls of Coon Rapids and Mary Jones (special friend, Lynn Hebel) of Minneapolis; seven grandchildren, Zachary (Stacy) Stonich, Andrea (Paul) Johannsen, Nathan (Melissa) Lukecart, Kimberly Lukecart (Raj Vibhaker), Kelly (Carlos) Auquilla, Michael Nicholls (friend, Jodi Border) and Dan Nicholls; 13 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, James Forberg, of Belle Plaine; and sister-in-law, Genevieve Hill, of Placerville, California.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ken; sister, Mary Lou Forberg; sisters-in-law Dorothy (Don) McFarland and Betty (Dale) Schmidthuber; and brothers-in-law Marshall and Robert Lukecart.

Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers to First Presbyterian Church of Albert Lea to support its mission work.

Blessed be her memory.