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Marjorie (Marge) L. Birk, 101

Marjorie (Marge) L. Birk of Woodstock passed peacefully into eternal life on Dec. 22, 2021, at St. Joseph Hospital, Elgin. She was born on Palm Sunday, March 28, 1920, in Big Foot, Ill., to Charles and Ida (Miller) Brunner. She married Vernon E. Birk on June 27, 1938, and moved to Woodstock in 1942. They were married six weeks short of their 60th anniversary.

She worked for 13 years at the Woodstock Hospital on South Street, where she was the first housekeeper supervisor. She also worked for Allied Printing, The Woodstock Sentinel, and was a member of Grace Lutheran Church of Woodstock for 78 years. She was a great volunteer at the church, working on funeral lunches, sewing circle for years, and the leader of sewing circle for 50 years. She just retired from this leadership role last November. In 2021 alone, the Sewing Circle served 10 local nursing homes with 65 crocheted lap blankets, 213 lap quilts, 181 walker bags, 57 wheelie bags, 34 cell phone bags, 218 poly bags, 95 small pillows, and 93 neck pillows; an additional 175 quilts were donated to Lutheran World Relief. “It makes your day to know you have helped people,” she said.

She was a member of the Women of the Moose in Harvard, and also the Golden Agers of the Moose, where she also was a volunteer. She also enjoyed playing cards with many friends and family and was an avid Cubs fan. Her African violets were some of her prized possessions and were the envy of many.

She is survived by a stepdaughter-in-law, Eunice Birk of Spokane Wash.; five stepgrandchildren; 11 stepgreat-grandchildren; stepgreat-great-grandchildren; and her extended family, Robert and Meg Hagen; dear grandson Jamie Hagen; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband May 11, 1998; her sisters, Eveline Young, Eleanora Cavin, Laverna Schuld, Lillian Schuld, Rose Staver, and Lorraine Staver; twin brothers, Raymond and Roy Brunner; a stepson, William L. Birk; a stepdaughter, Marilyn Gluth Troha; a stepgrandson, Michael Gluth; and a stepgranddaughter, Kathy Birk.

There will be a gathering of family and friends to celebrate Marge’s beautiful life on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at Grace Lutheran Church, 1300 Kishwaukee Road, Woodstock, Ill. 60098. The visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the memorial service at 11: a.m. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran Church Sewing Circle c/o Grace Lutheran Church.

For information contact Schneider, Leucht, Merwin & Cooney Funeral Home at 815-338-1710 or visit slmcfh.com.

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