Margaret A. McCarn

Margaret McCarn of Austin, Texas passed away February 25, 2017, at the age of 87. She was born June 22, 1929 to Edwin Carl Zieschang and Lina Augusta Zieschang in Taylor, Texas. She grew up on her parents farm just East of Taylor in Noack, Texas.

Margaret was blessed with a wonderful mind and thirst for knowledge. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class at the age of 15 and received a scholarship to The University of Texas. She moved to Austin in the Fall of 1945, and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from UT in 1948 at the age of 18. She also excelled in sports, playing on her high school basketball team as well as intramural sports in college.

After college she went to work for the Patterson & Patterson Law firm in Austin. From there she went on to work for the Texas State Teachers Association where she stayed until her first child was born.

She married J.C. McCarn Jr. on March 26, 1960. They were blessed with four children and were married for 55 years until J.C.'s death in May 2015. She loved her children very much and was always putting their needs above her own. Her encouragement and persistence for them to excel was her constant focus.

Margaret joined St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin while in college, and remained a devoted member of the congregation for over 70 years. She and J.C. were both very active in the church and rarely missed a Sunday service while they were still able to attend. She loved music/hymns and playing the piano, and was still singing until the last weeks of her life.

She fought a long and courageous battle with dementia/Alzheimer's for the last decade of her life. Through it all she never lost her thirst for learning and knowledge and would read everything she could lay her eyes on. She dearly missed all the members at St. Paul Lutheran Church, and still enjoyed reading her collection of old church directories.

She was a member of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society and spent many hours studying and researching her German roots and ancestors, including the Zieschang's as well as the Sauer and Wilke families on her mothers' side. Her great grandparents (Wilke) were among the original settlers of Fredericksburg. Her great grandparents (Sauer) were early settlers in Stonewall, TX. Their original home is now the Sauer-Beckmann living history farm, part of the LBJ State Park and Historic Site.

As much as she enjoyed life in Austin, she never lost her love for the farming community she grew up in. One of her favorite activities was the weekly trip she and J.C. took to her family farm in Noack. The family tried to keep that tradition going for her as long as possible. On a recent trip, and with her Alzheimer's advancing near the end of her life, she said she wasn't sure if she was still alive or had died and gone to heaven. The farm was that special to her.

Margaret is survived by her three sons, Jim, Carl, Keith and his wife Laura and two grandchildren, Alyssa and Mark. She was preceded in death by her husband J.C., her daughter Camille, and her brother Edwin. She is also survived by Edwin's wife Lenora, four nieces and a nephew and their families, as well as a very special cousin Elizabeth Parsons of Fredericksburg.

Her last year of life was blessed by the loving caregivers and staff in the Clarebridge section of Brookdale Northwest Hills. The family would also like to thank Robert Gower and Amy for the invaluable medical care they provided to Margaret.

Visitation will be held at Cook-Walden Funeral home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd on Wednesday, March 1st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The Funeral service will be on Thursday, March 2nd, 2:00 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 3501 Red River Street, Austin, Texas, with a luncheon beforehand at noon in the church parlor. Burial will follow at Austin Memorial Park.