Obituary of Marjorie Elizabeth Casebolt

Marjorie DeMoss Casebolt was born on December 30, 1925 in Seattle Washington, and died on Friday, January 21, 2011 in Tacoma. She was 85. Raised in the Ballard district in a house her father built, she was the only child of Samuel DeMoss and Reiden Erikson. In the summers during her early years Marjorie enjoyed attending Camp Sealth on Vashon Island with the Camp Fire Girls where she met her life-long friend, Pat McCain. Marge majored in Home Economics at WSU where she was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority. As the war came to a close, she met her future husband, George Clifford Casebolt; they were married in 1948 and settled in Tacoma where they raised their four boys: Steve, Clark, Jeff, and Jim. From summer excursions to the San Juan Islands, aboard their 21-foot cabin cruiser “Casey,” to Christmas vacations at the Mountaineers lodge on Mt. Baker, Marge and Cliff instilled a life-long love of outdoor activities in all of their children. Always a creative and prodigious cook, Marge is remembered fondly by friends and family for her culinary skills. A gourmet impulse tempered by frugal pragmatism set her on a path of successful experiments in wild edible foods: wild mushrooms, cattail muffins, dogfish, geoducks, salal berry jam, and dandelion salad, to name a few. Other interests of hers included oil painting, gardening, and birding. As her children grew up and became more independent, Marge returned to working in her vocation as a consumer educator. She taught at Jason Lee middle school and later at Bates Technical College. When the kids graduated from college, Marge and Cliff were able to realize some of their travel dreams. Their first big excursion was a nine-month trip around the world with a group of college students from UPS studying comparative religions. Next was a safari in Africa. Marge and Cliff divorced in 1986. Marge seldom traveled the easy path. Bent, but not broken by the unexpected adjustment to life as a single woman in her 60s, she displayed the temerity and backbone for which she will always be remembered, by joining the Peace Corps and moving to a small village in Guatamala for two years. She learned to speak Spanish and continued in her vocation as a compassionate educator and activist. Galvanized by the people, the culture, and third world living, Marge seemed to come back wearing bigger shoes than when she left: happier, more confident, and worldlier. From raising a family with fierce dedication, to teaching nutrition in Spanish, to volunteering at the Gig Harbor food bank in her final years, Margarita will be remembered for giving far more than she took from this life. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, February 5, 2011 11:00 AM at the Lakeview Chapel, 4606 108th St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499.