Margaret Janet Triggs Ziemer

Margaret Janet Triggs Ziemer, 84, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and the mother of six children, died Sunday, Dec. 11, at St. Mary's Care Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Born in Rochester, Minnesota, Margaret moved to Madison in 1924. She was a graduate of St. James Catholic School in Madison and St. Mary's Academy, Prairie du Chien, WI. Margaret's adventuresome spirit drew her to swim across Madison's lakes as a teenager; to follow her soldier husband Paul to Army Air Corps camps in Tullahoma, Tennessee and Laredo, Texas, as a young bride; to create a news service providing La Crosse area reports to major papers, including the Milwaukee Journal, in the late 1940's; and to chase tornadoes and rush to the scenes of fatal accidents as a reporter and photographer at the Pampa (Texas) Spokesman in the early 1950's and as editor of the Gonzales (Texas) Inquirer in 1955 and 1956. Mrs. Ziemer, who in her last years often said ''children and dogs always loved me,'' also was a well-loved teacher in Warrick County, IN, and at Reitz Memorial High School, and Sacred Heart School in Evansville, IN, between 1956 and 1966. A gifted writer, Margaret also was education reporter for Chicago's American in the late 1960s and an editor of Compton's Encyclopedia from 1966 to 1973. In the late 1970s, she worked as a dispatcher at General Heating in Madison. After retiring from Chicago Newsclip in 1983, she most recently worked as a substitute teacher at St. Gregory's School on Chicago's North Side. Margaret was preceded in death by her infant daughter, Joy Janet, and her ex-husband Paul; her parents Vivian and Claude Triggs, founders of Triggs Plumbing in Madison; two brothers; and one sister. Survivors include her sisters, Marion Smith and Rosemary Hayes; sons Eric of Bloomington, IN, and Paul Steven (Shelley Fetter) of Parker, CO; daughters Penny Ford of Denver, CO, Margaret ''Marni'' Ziemer Roiniotis of Chicago, and Antonia Ziemer of Madison; niece Michelle Liggett; and many other nieces and nephews; Mrs. Ziemer was the proud grandmother of Chris, Lisa and Chelsea Ziemer, Liam, Gregory, Michael, Meg, Mary Catherine, Jane, Dolores and Joseph Ford, Diana Roiniotis, and Julia Ziemer and Claire Kellesvig; she was extremely proud of great-grandchildren Vivian and Rosalei Ziemer-Smith, Sonam and Violet Ford, Sofiane Ford Larbi, and Chiara Ziemer. A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, December 17, 2005 at St. James Catholic Church, 1134 St. James Court, Madison, at 1 p.m. with Msgr. Thomas Baxter officiating. Inurnment will follow at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Madison. Visitation will be held at Ryan Funeral Home, 2418 N. Sherman Ave., Madison, on Friday, December 16, 2005 from 5 to 8 p.m., where a rosary service will take place at 5 pm. Visitation will also take place at the church on Saturday from 12 noon until the time of Mass. Memorial donations are encouraged to St. James Catholic School, 1130 St. James Ct., Madison, WI 53715 , or to the School Sisters of Notre Dame Retirement Center, 13105 Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove, WI 53122. Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 2418 N. Sherman Ave. 608-249-8257. www.ryanfuneralservice.com.