Marguerite Marie (Crane) Peery Chambers Bartruff
May 30, 1922 - July 11, 2013
Marguerite Marie Crane was born in Aberdeen South Dakota on May 30th 1922 to Loney A. and Lettie L. Crane. Marguerite had four siblings, Frank, Howard, Evelyn and Verda all now deceased. In 1936 when she was 14 her family moved from the dust bowl of South Dakota to a small farm near Scio Oregon. On June 29, 1940 Marguerite and Cyrus (Skeet) Peery were the first couple to be married in the Providence Pioneer Church. For the next 29 years she and Skeet raised their boys, Bob, Dave, Gene and Bruce on the Peery family farm near Scio. On January 1st, 1969 Marguerite and Skeet were in a car accident that took Skeet's life. At the age of 47 Marguerite began attending Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University) and earning a teaching degree in three years, returning to Scio to teach at the elementary school. On June 10, 1972 Marguerite married Charles Chambers and they lived in the Dever-Connor area until moving to the Mennonite Village in Albany in 1991. Sadly, husband Charles succumbed to Alzheimer's in 1996. Marguerite continued to live at the Mennonite Village where she married Bryce Bartruff on Feb. 14, 2009. For their honeymoon they spent two weeks in Hawaii visiting Pearl Harbor, sightseeing by helicopter and submarine, visiting the Polynesian Culture Center and swimming in the ocean.
Marguerite had a deep and abiding faith which sustained her through her life. She was a long time ovarian cancer survivor having been diagnosed in 1995. In 2009 Dr. Kenyon told Marguerite there was no need for her to return to see him as she had beat the cancer. Later in life she studied geology and Oregon history taking classes until she was 90 years old. She helped with the Smart Reading Program, swam most every day, was an active volunteer at the Mennonite Village and continued to help on the family farm as recently as two years ago. She loved to travel and visited Egypt, Germany, Africa (twice), Hawaii and Alaska. After Charles passed away Marguerite bought a small motorhome and travelled Oregon. She was a photographer, winning ribbons at the Oregon State Fair.
Marguerite was the matriarch of our family and will be deeply missed by all of us. She taught us about life with the way she lived hers. She was not a complainer and was a genuinely happy person being the happiest when surrounded by her family at the farm.
She is survived by husband Bryce, sons Bob (Janie) Peery of Corvallis, Dave (Carla) Peery of Seattle WA, Gene (Deidre) Peery of Scio, Bruce (Kathy) Peery of Kennewick WA, nephew Larry (Joyce) Becker of Plymouth, CA, cousin Kay Velmire of Seattle WA, step children Mary (Loren) Horton of Portland OR and Bryce II (Cappy) Bartruff of New Jersey, eleven grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
Her family thanks the doctors and nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital, her caregivers at home and Evergreen Hospice. Her last days were made more peaceful because of the help they gave her.
Services will be at South Albany Community Church, 2418 Geary St. SE, on Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 1:00 PM. A private family burial will follow at Providence Cemetery in Scio. Memorials can be given to: