Marguerite Stegner age 89 of Morgan, formerly of Ortonville, Minnesota, died on March 1, 2014 at the Sleepy Eye Medical Center following a severe heart attack.  A memorial service will be held in Ortonville in the spring.  Memorials preferred for Gil-Mor Haven, 90 Third Street E., Morgan, MN 56266.  Stephens Funeral Service – Redwood Valley Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Marguerite Mae (Pflueger) Stegner was born on May 20, 1924, in Ortonville, Minnesota, the daughter of Chester and Martina (Griese) Pflueger.  She was the valedictorian of the Ortonville High School Class of 1942.  She was married to Vincent C. Stegner of Ortonville on December 29, 1945.  They made their home in Ortonville until relocating to Gil-Mor Manor and Gil-Mor Haven in May, 2011.  Marguerite had a keen intellect and deep love of learning.  She was self-taught in many subjects, developing reading lists and building personal libraries on topics of interest to her.  She got a computer at age 85 in order to access Wikipedia and The Great Courses curriculum.  The internet opened a wider world for her.  After relocating to Morgan, MN, she returned to a lifelong enjoyment of poetry.  She was gratified to become a published poet at age 87.  Her final poem was completed on February 23, 2014.  She embraced the traditional role of the fifties-era homemaker, mother, and community, school, and church volunteer.  She strove to expand the learning opportunities for her daughters beyond the small-town public school.  She maintained high expectations for herself and her children.  She was an avid bridge player and strove to improve her game every time she played.  The most difficult part of moving from Ortonville was leaving her bridge club, which was formed in 1946.  About herself, she said that she had the heart of a ballerina but the hands of a mechanic.  She proved this in the 1960’s by building a home stereo system from Heathkit components.  She enjoyed that experience so much that she went on to assemble a radio.

Marguerite is survived by two daughters:  Susan (Jim) Fergus of Racine, WI, Robin Stegner (Scott Larson) of Redwood Falls, MN, two sisters-in-law, Lois Pflueger and Geneva Eschweiler, brother-in-law David Hesla, and eight nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents; her special uncle Reuben Pflueger, her husband Vincent, her brother Robert Pflueger, sisters-in-law Mary Hesla and Jane Malmquist, and her nephew Thor Hesla.