Margaret Edith Woodle

Margaret E. “Maggie” Woodle

Maggie was born Margaret Edith Highhouse in Billings, Montana to Leroy Victor “Bud” Highhouse and June Estelle Highhouse (Stevenson). A few years later, the family moved to Metzger, Oregon and grew to include Maggie’s younger brothers, James, Patrick, and Richard. Maggie attended Metzger Elementary School and graduated from Tigard High School in 1958.

After high school, she worked for the Safeway Corporation and LaGrand Industrial. In 1960, she married her first husband, Floyd Hein, and had a son, Michael, in 1961. After a second marriage, she became a Coast Guard wife and had second son, Chris, in 1967. The Coast Guard moved the family to Governors Island, New York. This island is off the tip of Manhattan in New York City and as it marked Maggie’s first move away from Oregon since the early 1940s, it was a big move indeed.

The family was stationed on Governors Island from 1969 to 1974. During this time, Maggie was the President of the Officers Wives Club and very active in that group. They made frequent trips around the Northeast and also out to Oregon to see family. In 1970, another son, David, was added to the family. In 1974, the family moved back to Portland and lived in West Slope. These were very trying years for Maggie as she was often the sole parent with three sons at home.

In 1979 the family moved one last time with the Coast Guard to Valdez, Alaska. This was another trying experience due to the distance from Oregon family and the long winters. In addition to being a mother and homemaker, Maggie filled many roles and was often a counselor and mentor to many of the other Coast Guard wives, most of them very young and away from home for the first time. She was always a trusted advisor and confidant. Maggie was also very active with the Valdez Arts Council. The City of Valdez was flush with cash in the early 1980s thanks to the recently opened Trans-Alaska Pipeline. So, while the city may have been remote, it did not lack for state-of-the-art facilities and unique opportunities.

In 1985, Maggie left Valdez and settled in Bellingham, Washington where she remained for over 20 years, the longest she lived in any one place. Maggie loved Bellingham and was very active in the Lutheran Church she attended there. She had a wide circle of friends, many of whom she still communicated with and visited on a frequent basis. One group of friends was very special to her. They dubbed themselves “The Shirley’s” after the titular character in the movie “Shirley Valentine”. During this stay in Bellingham, Maggie also worked for Chicago Title for 10 years.

In 2008, Maggie moved to Hillsboro, Oregon to be closer to family and some beach property that was in the family at that time. Approximately five years later, Maggie began to develop and exhibit more frequent indications of difficulty with memory, speaking, and comprehension. The Doctors generally linked this to progressive aphasia caused by vascular dementia. Just as its described, this condition progressed and, over time, Maggie was less and less able to manage a house on her own, so this prompted a move to an independent living facility in Troutdale to be near son, Mike. She was able to live there for a few years and as her conditions worsened, she moved to Adult Care Home in Gresham where she remained the rest of her days.

Despite the fact she was becoming increasingly debilitated by her failing mind, Maggie never lost her indomitable spirit and cheerful attitude. While she may have forgotten names and places, she still recognized the people she loved and this was a blessing. She leaves behind her sons, extended family, and many close friends who love her dearly and have nothing but cherished memories of Maggie…or “mom”, “Auntie Margot”, “Mimi” and other loving terms of endearment she was adorned with over the years.

Maggie was many things, above all, she was loyal. Loyal to her family and friends and absolutely devoted to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In her religion, Maggie found the solace she needed to deal with other aspects of her life that were not complete and were not fair to her. She put up with far too much in her second marriage and she sacrificed a great deal to ensure stability for her family.

Her faith, unbreakable spirit, and devotion to her sons, extended family, and friends kept her aloft. She was very social and loved to travel. She traveled extensively in the US, Canada, and Europe. Her favorite trips; however, were to the Oregon Coast, especially Cannon Beach. In addition to travel, Maggie enjoyed reading, knitting, cooking (she was an excellent cook), movies (especially funny ones - “Hopscotch” was one of her favorites), British TV shows, flowers, music, activities with her church, and her 2015 Subaru Outback which was the first brand new car she’d ever owned.

Maggie was predeceased by her father from cancer in the early 1970s, her mother in 1992, and her three brothers who have, sadly, all passed within the last 26 months. She leaves behind her loving sons, Mike, Chris, David, and Ron, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, an extended family of sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and the many close friends she made over the years.

The family wishes to extend their sincere appreciation to Julie Miller, the owner of the Adult Care Home that Maggie lived in the last 16 months of her life. Julie took exceptional care of Maggie and provided a home filled with happiness and fun activities that Maggie very much enjoyed.

Maggie will be dearly missed by all who loved her. It has been difficult to watch her steadily diminish over the last several years, but there is also some measure of relief knowing she is free of her failing mind and body and now residing in the loving glory of her Lord.

A celebration of Maggie’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations to the National Aphasia Association be considered in her memory. More than anything, please honor her memory by trying to embody the qualities that made her the truly exceptional person, mother, and friend that she always was.

“The most beautiful words on the lips of mankind is the word “Mother”, and the most beautiful call is the call of “My Mother”. It is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart.

The mother is everything - she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness.

He who loses his mother loses a pure soul who blesses and guards him constantly. Everything in nature bespeaks the mother.

The sun is the mother of earth and gives it its nourishment of heart; it never leaves the universe at night until it has put the earth to sleep to the song of the sea and the hymn of birds and brooks. And this earth is the mother of trees and flowers. It produces them, nurses them, and weans them.

The trees and flowers become kind mothers of their great fruits and seeds. And the mother, the prototype of all existence, is the eternal spirit, full of beauty and love.”

-from “Broken Wings” by Kahlil Gibran

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.batemancarrollfunerals.com for the Woodle family.