Margaret Jane Lindberg "Babe"

Margaret was born March 28, 1928 in Seattle at Virginia Mason Hospital. Her parents were Margaret Jane Markwell of Des Moines, Washington and David Marshall Cameron of Glasgow, Scotland. By the time she was a little girl, her father had left the area, perhaps to return to his homeland.

She grew up in the small town of Des Moines along the Puget Sound shoreline. She had her older brother Robert who was eight years older. Robert was the son of Attilio DeZordo of San Francisco and Margaret Jane Markwell. His parents had married in Tacoma in 1918, lived in San Francisco at the time of Robert’s birth, and then divorced. Margaret (Sr.) had returned to live in her hometown with her little boy.

The town of Des Moines had many extended family members including maternal grandmother “Big Mama”, several aunts and uncles from the Markwell and Rawls families, and several cousins. It provided a family atmosphere for Robert and little Margaret to grow up in.

Young Margaret received her nickname “Babe” early on in life. Perhaps it was because she was one of the youngest in the extended family. Perhaps it was because Babe Ruth was in the heyday of his career. Perhaps it was because her mother’s name was the same as hers. Likely it was a combination of all factors. Whatever the reason, it stuck! Good thing because her future mother-in-law’s name was also “Margaret”!

It wasn’t long after Margaret’s (Babe’s) birth that the Great Depression began to unfold. Life was already a bit of a struggle with a single parent and two children. Now it was even more a challenge. Nevertheless, Margaret provided for her two children by running several businesses from the home. She did laundry for various customers, drying row upon row of sheets and other items on the clotheslines stretched between the house and the woodshed. Like some, she had her own milk cow. That’s one of the reasons that young Margaret grew up hating milk. She really didn’t like the fresh stuff at all!

In addition to the laundry, her mother grew several types of berries and vegetables which were sold. Additionally, Margaret (senior) raised chickens, pheasants, ducks, quail, and geese. Eggs and the birds themselves were sold for income.

After completing her early years at Des Moines Elementary, Babe attended Highline High School in Burien. She loved her friends and many of her teachers. The mastery of typing gave her tremendous pride.

The popularity of a young Frank Sinatra turned her into a bonafide bobby-soxer! She went to the Seattle Orpheum Theater to see him in person. She played the clarinet in the marching band. She loved to dance and had little success in teaching the jitterbug to her young daughter in years to come. Skiing also beckoned as another favorite activity she enjoyed with her friends.

The outbreak of World War II brought new challenges and limitation. Her brother went off to Europe to serve under General Patton. The constant worry of war meant the ration books became the norm. Margaret did her part in many ways, including using an eyebrow pencil and a yardstick to draw the seam of her pretend silk stockings. The effects of the war years were to last many years beyond their conclusion. Robert came home seriously wounded and spent years in and out of the hospital with mental problems. It cast a shadow over life for all as the ensuing years came and went.

Dunn and Bradstreet in downtown Seattle helped launch Margaret’s career as a secretary. When she later wanted to be closer to home, a position with the Civil Aeronautics Administration at Seattle-Tacoma Airport provided another opportunity. During her time at Sea-Tac, she made great friends and had occasion to see various dignitaries such as Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethopia pass through the terminals. Obviously this era of air travel was on a scale much smaller than today which enabled passengers to be spotted easily as they arrived.

Margaret had met Richard (Dick) Lindberg at Angle Lake south of the airport. They both loved to dance. Dick had grown up near the lake, attending Angle Lake Elementary. He later moved to closer downtown and graduated Queen Anne High School. Still they had many mutual friends.

Margaret was ahead of her time by virtue she continued her career even though a parent. She and Dick built a house on 21st Avenue above Delridge Avenue in West Seattle. Their daughter Karin attended Cooper Elementary near Bethlehem Steel Mills near Alaskan Way. Near the end of the elementary years, they purchased a new home south of White Center placing them back in the Highline School District.

Margaret stepped away from her career for a few years to stay at home. During this time she developed close friendships with several neighbors, some of those bonds lasting the rest of her life. She also joined a civic/cultural sorority Beta Sigma Phi. And she and Dick became members of a dance club.

The year that Disneyland opened, the decision was made to travel to Southern California for the initial opening season. With their new ’55 Oldsmobile, the trio headed down Highway 99. This would be the first of numerous trips to Santa Monica, California. The preferred destination was the William Tell Motel on Santa Monica Blvd., several blocks from the Pacific Ocean. This location turned out to be convenient for trips to all the famous tourist spots in the Los Angeles vicinity.

Early on, they met and made fast friends with another couple and their two sons from Seattle who also had settled on the William Tell as a wonderful place to stay. So year after year the two households jointly planned trips to sunny Santa Monica. The Loyd family continued to be close friends. Doris and Earl would occasionally come to stay with Dick and Margaret. In the years after both husbands had passed away, the two wives remained close and saw each other when possible.

By the mid ‘60’s, Dick and Margaret decided to move to Southern California. By the time they moved, Karin was a senior at Evergreen High School. To enable her to graduate with her class, they arranged for her to live with neighbors until graduation.

Margaret returned to the world of work after Karin began attending the University of California at Irvine (UCI). She worked for Beckman Instruments and then Collins Radio. Collins Radio was bought by Rockwell which was eventually bought by Boeing. By the time she retired, she, like so many in Seattle, was an employee of Boeing! The irony!

Karin met her future husband Jeff Freeman while at UCI. They were married in 1969, and they moved to West Germany where he was stationed in the Army. While Karin and Jeff lived in Europe, Dick and Margaret flew to Paris to spend about 3 weeks with them seeing much of Europe. The special experiences of that vacation lasted the rest of her life as she would express her strong desire to visit Italy once again.

The other favorite locale to visit was the island of Maui in Hawaii. She and Dick both loved the island. It, too, lingered vividly in her mind up to the end of this life on earth.

Dick passed away in 1993, and Margaret made a change to be a little closer to Karin and her family by moving to Yorba Linda. By then she had two grandchildren Amanda Megan and Nicholas Markwell. When Highline class reunions came along, Margaret still headed north to be with friends. To give her a little help, Karin and Mandy went up with her on one occasion; on another time, Jeff went up with her. The importance of staying in touch and spending time with her former classmates was a necessity to support.

As years continued on, Margaret became a great-grandmother. First it was to Addison Marie Freeman. Just this past spring two more came along: Jackson Markwell Freeman and Stella Rae Logan.

As the health and the mind began to compromise Margaret’s life, she finally moved into assisted living. Still she could keep in touch and enjoy life. However about two years ago, she became much more fragile and needed greater care. She came to live at Emeritus in the skilled nursing portion of the residence. The many talented, dedicated staff members grew to be her extended family. She brought some laughter and spirit. Time and time again, staff remarked about her polite “thank you” and “please” offered up during the length of her stay in their care. They, in turn, made sure she had her coffee as well as other favorites like bacon.

It was indeed a sad, somber day when Margaret slipped away from this life. The hugs went ‘round and still continue days past her departure. She may have been petite but her spirit and heart were enormous. Margaret Jane Lindberg left us with good memories and taught us many lessons in life. Her presence will be missed by many.

Arrangements under the direction of Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary FD1176, Corona Del Mar, CA.