Margaret Ann Olson Burchtorf, 78, died May 9, 2008 at her home.
Her graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at North Powder Cemetery.
Margaret was born on May 6, 1930, at Haines. In her early years, she lived at Nyssa and then moved back to Haines with her family.
Margaret was a 1948 St. Francis Academy graduate and then graduated from nursing school in 1952. She was a registered nurse who worked in Pendleton, Portland, Salem and Baker City.
Margaret married dentist Dr. John Rogers “Jack” Burchtorf on March 3, 1956, at Winnemucca, Nev. She was a devoted wife and mother who enjoyed time with her family. She loved the mountains, riding horses, picking berries, hunting mushrooms, and camping.
Singing and dancing came easily to Margaret, whose father was a trombone player in a family jazz band. She also enjoyed relaxing at home with a good book. She loved nothing more than spending time with her family and watching her children and grandchildren play sports, her family said.
Margaret focused on polio patients in her early nursing career. After she was married to Jack, she worked as a nurse at the Baker Clinic. When her children were born, Margaret worked in the dental clinic with Jack until they retired in 1992.
Survivors include her loving husband, Jack Burchtorf; sister, Mary Bowen; children, Julie Hudson, and her husband, Geoff, Kim Burchtorf, Dana Taylor and her husband, Tim, and Tracy Sams and her husband, Duane; grandchildren, Cali Taylor, Lance Parrish, Cody Taylor, Jack Burchtorf, Kyle Hudson, Kacie Sams, Marc Burchtorf and Brody Sams; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Eva Olson, and her father, Olaf Olson; her sister, Marcia Blakely; and her brother, Roger “Pete” Olson
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association through Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 13, 2008
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor