Marjorie “Marge” J. Clemens, 88, died November 18, 2020, at Eventide Senior Living, Jamestown, ND from COVID complications along with advanced dementia.Marjorie was born on October 23, 1932 in Jamestown, ND to Joe & Agnes (Wozny) Cysewski. She attended St. Johns Academy, Jamestown and graduated in 1950. She later attended College of St. Catherine’s in St. Paul and Valley City State Teachers College and briefly taught school in rural North Dakota. She married John “Jack” Clemens in 1955 at St. Boniface Catholic Church, Wimbledon, ND. They moved to the Clemens family farm where they resided for almost 50 years.

Marge was very involved as a religion teacher at St. Boniface where she typed up all her lesson plans on a manual typewriter. She belonged to numerous women’s groups such as American Legion Auxiliary, the “Friendly Femmes” Homemakers Club, her churches altar society, the church Women’s Guild where she was involved in making crafts to sell, T.O.P.S (a.k.a. ‘Fat Ladies’) group, and her “walk and talk” exercise group in the pool near her home in Arkansas.

 

Her talents were numerous. She was a skilled seamstress and many were gifted a set of her famous potholders. She was renowned for her cinnamon rolls, apple bars, homemade buns and pies. She tended to her gardens and everyone knew that petunias were her favorite flowers. If she tried a food and liked it, she always requested the recipe. You could count on her whistling while she worked!

 

She embraced everything about being a farmer’s wife from helping out by driving trucks, filling the water tanks to delivering meals to the field workers. She was a meticulous book keeper and kept records of everything!

 

She became an avid golfer plus she was in bowling leagues in Hannaford, ND and Belle Vista, AR. She enjoyed going to antique stores and flea markets just to see what her “stuff” was worth. She never missed an episode of “The Bold and the Beautiful”, was an enthusiastic book reader and was quite skilled at playing mah-jongg. She was a diligent picture taker (even when her subjects insisted that she put the camera away). She was always game for gambling at cards but insisted on using buttons instead of coins. Such high stakes! She appreciated the talent on stage when attending plays and musicals. She and Jack especially loved to travel and in later years, would spend their winters at a home they built in Bella Vista.

 

Everyone that had the privilege of knowing Marge would recall that she had such a wonderment about her in that she was genuinely interested in anyone’s story. She was always so patient and accepting of others. She believed in staying in touch with friends and family through a handwritten letter. She was an eternal optimist and simply refused to acknowledge or accept that there was not a silver lining to any situation.

 

Jack passed away in 2003. Marge was joined in a Catholic Commitment Ceremony to Clarence Thelen in November 2006 and they resided in Bella Vista and Oregon, WI. Due to early onset dementia, she returned to Jamestown in 2017 and resided at both Edgewood and Eventide Senior Living centers. Clarence passed away in 2019.

 

Marjorie is survived by her three sons and two daughters; Mike (Pam) Wimbledon, ND; Susan Bibo (Gary), Bel Aire, Kansas; Chris (Janice) Green Bay, Wisconsin; Pat (Mary), Odessa, Missouri; and Betsy Reiten (Brian) Jamestown, her brothers, Eugene and Tom (Evonne) Cysewski; sisters Sylvia Woldum (Chuck) and Angela Madsen (Jim), and sister-in-law Mary Crosby, eleven grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, Jack, companion, Clarence and several brother-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s.

Marge’s life will be celebrated with an intimate family Mass and private burial. In lieu of flowers, monetary donations can be made to St Boniface Catholic Church’s Capital Campaign in Wimbledon, where Marge was a member for all of her life.

Funeral arrangements by Williams Funeral Home, Jamestown.