Oct. 22, 1931 – Oct. 18, 2024
Margaret Emma (Borgardt) Loving was a longtime, beloved kindergarten teacher’s aide who left an inestimable community legacy by nurturing many hundreds of Northern Door County students in their most formative school years. She died peacefully of natural causes, at age 92, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Sister Bay.
Throughout her life, Margaret was deeply rooted in her faith and truly embodied the virtues taught by her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Her kind, gentle, and caring nature was reinforced by her firm convictions, which were evident in all aspects of her life. Everyone she encountered, especially children, could readily sense her strength of character and authenticity. Beyond the kindergarten classroom, she became somewhat of an adopted grandmother to many other children over the years.
Margaret was born on Oct. 22, 1931, in Northfield Township, Illinois, and grew up with an older sister and younger brother. After graduating from Arlington Heights Township High School in 1949, she took a secretarial job in a corporate trust office, commuting daily by train to downtown Chicago, and remained active in the youth group at Palatine Bible Church, where she ultimately met her husband, George.
Margaret and George married on March 31, 1951, and soon started a family in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. In the early years of their marriage, they led the church youth group and settled in Barrington, Illinois, where their two daughters, Grace and Deborah, were born.
The Loving family moved in 1965 from Palatine, Illinois, to an old farmhouse they had been renovating for several years on Kangaroo Lake, in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin. The next year, Margaret was asked by Annette Erickson, an acquaintance who had become a teacher a couple of years earlier, to consider joining her as teacher’s aide in her kindergarten class, which then met in a two-room schoolhouse in Ephraim. This began a decades-long classroom partnership and cherished friendship between Margaret and Annette, who remained close for the rest of their lives.
In all, Margaret worked as a teacher’s aide for 29 years in the Gibraltar School District. She spent the first 24 years in kindergarten classrooms in Ephraim and Fish Creek—years she recounted as some of the happiest of her life. She then became an aide for five years in classrooms for children with special needs. In reflecting on her career, she described that later work as challenging and rewarding— “a stretching experience” that, even with all her years in the classroom, taught her, “along with the children, everyday lessons of life and how we can all be an active part of society.” Margaret clearly left an indelible impression on her students. Even as adults, they would make a point of stopping to greet her, addressing her fondly as “Mrs. Loving,” whenever they’d encounter her in a restaurant or shop.
Margaret and George were avid and talented gardeners, known especially for their annuals, perennials and wildflowers. People driving along Highway 57 would often stop to admire and photograph—and even paint!—the flower gardens at the farmhouse on Kangaroo Lake, which the family ran as a summertime bed and breakfast for 15 years after George retired. When Margaret and George moved to the Meadows independent living apartments at Scandia Village, they started a community vegetable garden for the residents, and Margaret eventually headed the Memorial Garden Committee. In later years, after George died, Margaret enjoyed maintaining a splendid patch of perennials adjacent to her apartment’s patio space.
Margaret was an integral part of the social fabric at the Meadows for more than two decades—serving on the Social Committee, frequently sharing baked goods with her many friends and the staff, and distributing large, polished Cortland apples to all the Meadows residents on her birthday—before moving to Scandia’s care center in late 2023. Even as her mobility diminished, she managed the transition with her characteristic grace and dignity, all the while continuing to cheerfully welcome countless visitors to her room.
An engaged member of Community Church of Fish Creek, Margaret participated in or led numerous church activities and ministries. For many years, she chaired the church’s ambitious and effective Missions Committee, which supports missionaries worldwide.
She also established and organized the church’s annual program for collectively packing hundreds of brightly wrapped, gift-filled shoeboxes contributed to Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse.
Margaret was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, George Loving; by her eldest daughter, Grace Loving; by her parents, Henry and Emma (Hilgenberg) Borgardt; by her younger brother and sister-in-law, Frederick and Patricia Borgardt; and by her brother-in-law, Forrest William Camp Sr.
She is survived by her youngest daughter, Deborah (George) Loving Yoder, of Tucson, Arizona, and by her elder sister, Elizabeth Borgardt Camp, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at 1 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, 11836 State Highway 42, Ellison Bay.. Officiants: Pastor Daniel Bowman and Pastor Ken Muck. Visitation will be held at the church prior to the service, from 11 am to 1 pm. A private interment was held previously at Baileys Harbor Town Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, any donations in Margaret’s name may be directed to the Missions Fund at Community Church of Fish Creek (www.ccfishcreek.org), to the Northern Door Children’s Center (northerndoorchildrenscenter.org), or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Margaret’s family thanks the staff of Serenity Spring Senior Living at Scandia Village for helping to provide many years of secure and peaceful living in the Meadows and the care center. They are especially grateful to the nurses and CNAs who took close care of Margaret in her final days while also thoughtfully accommodating Deborah’s needs. The family additionally thanks the attentive staff of Unity Hospice for their supportive care and professionalism in recent weeks.
Casperson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Sister Bay is assisting the Loving family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Margaret may be shared with her family through her tribute page at CaspersonFuneralHome.com.
