Margaret Clara Birchler, 99, died on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at her home in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Childhood and Young Adult

She was born October 23, 1924, to Carl and Anna (Petersen) Granstrom in a farm home near Minden, Nebraska. Margaret attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade and graduated from Minden High School in Minden, Nebraska, in 1942. She received her B.A. degree from Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska, with a major in Business and English. After graduation, she was secretary at the First Presbyterian Church in Hastings from 1946 to 1951.

Marriage to Allen Burl Birchler

She married Allen Burl Birchler on August 15, 1950. In August of 1951, they moved to San Anselmo, California, where Allen enrolled at the San Francisco Theological Seminary.  Margaret was employed at the Bank of America during that time. After Allen graduated in 1954, he accepted a pastorate in Roxbury, Kansas.

Kansas and Nebraska

Margaret and Allen lived in Roxbury for three years. In 1956 Margaret gave birth to their first child, Mary Ann. In 1957 they moved to Panama, Nebraska, where their second child, Mark Allen, was born.  Thereafter, they moved to Huskerville, Nebraska, where their third child, David Carl, was born (1960).  Their fourth child, Steven John (1962), was born while they lived in Adams, Nebraska.

During this time, Allen served as a part-time pastor to the Panama and Adams Presbyterian Churches while earning his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska.

La Crosse, Wisconsin

In 1965 the Birchler family moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where Allen had accepted a teaching position in the history department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Margaret was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of La Crosse, serving as an elder, deacon, and treasurer, as a member of the Presbyterian Women, and as a member of the stewardship and membership committees.

In 1981 Margaret became the financial secretary of the First Congregational United Church of Christ and enjoyed having that position for nine years. Other activities included being a teacher aide at the First Congregational Church Nursery School, serving twelve years on the Board of the Friends of the Symphony, assisting in the family waiting room during surgeries at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital, and delivering Mobile Meals.

Allen and Margaret built a home in La Crosse in 1969. This has been the family home ever since. There the four children grew to adulthood, family gatherings were held, friends visited, and their lives flourished.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by an infant sister, her husband, Allen, who died on August 14, 2012, and her sister and brother-in-law, Virginia and Dean Morgan. She is survived by four children, Mary Ann (Jim) Polewski, Mark (Jan) Birchler, David Birchler, and Steven Birchler, and by four grandchildren, Matthew (Beth), Michael, and Sara Birchler and Katrina Polewski.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of La Crosse on Thursday, December 14, at Noon. Friends may call at the church from 11:00 a.m. to Noon.

Meditation on a Beautiful Life

Margaret was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt. Although she built a wonderful and rewarding life in La Crosse, she never lost her love for Nebraska and her family there.

Her marriage to Allen was filled with love, commitment, and dedication to their shared vision of a Christian life filled with service, wisdom, and kindness.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:26

Her greatest legacy is her loving, supportive, and wise parenthood with Allen of their four children. Each child has been raised with a unique sensitivity to their personality. Each child feels that they were loved and supported as a blessed gift from God. All of us have a powerful sense of thankfulness and joy that she filled our lives for so many wonderful years.

Her children arise and call her blessed.

Proverbs 31:28a

Margaret has also given so much in service and friendship to La Crosse and the surrounding communities. Although many dear friends have preceded her in death, many others remain who remember her dedication and kindness.

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:31

Margaret’s work on earth is done. We rejoice that she now lives in eternity with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The miracle of her life is that she bound us all together in love.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

Memorials

A memorial service will be held at Noon on Thursday, December 14, at First Presbyterian Church, 233 West Ave., La Crosse. The Rev. Doctor J. Taylor Haley will officiate. Friends may call at the church on Thursday from 11:00 a.m. until time for the service. A light lunch will be served in Fellowship Hall after the service.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the Allen B. Birchler Lecture Fund at the UW-La Crosse Foundation or to the First Presbyterian Church of La Crosse.

Coulee Region Cremation Group is assisting the family.