Marjorie Walstad

Marjorie Walstad, longtime resident of Yuma, AZ., passed away from age-related causes at Yuma Nursing Center just after midnight, March 21, 2011. On March 8 she had joyfully celebrated her 89th birthday with family from CA., NC., OR. and locally attending at Yuma's Grand China Restaurant and at her daughter's house.
Marge, who went by Margie in her youth, was born in Los Angeles, CA. on March 8, 1922 to Lambert and Rose Vandenberg. At age four her mother Rose died, a victim of the TB epidemic, and in a short while she had a new mother, Lambert's second wife Anna. As a child in the Edendale district of L.A. Marge was blessed to enjoy the southern California lifestyle with multiple aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and a sister. While deprived of her beloved mother Rose, she was fortunate that her father had steady employment with Standard Oil during the Great Depression.
Marge attended local schools in Los Angeles and later Orange County, where she graduated from Fullerton High School in Fullerton, CA. in 1939. After completing her studies at Fullerton Junior College, she was accepted to the Bishop Johnson College of Nursing at L.A.'s The Hospital of the Good Samaritan – desperate for nurses during the "war emergency" -- where she earned her degree in Nursing in 1944 and nursed during World War II.
At Good Sam, as Good Samaritan was known, she met a medical intern Paul Walstad, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from Minneapolis, MN. The two were "set up" by friends for a date on the adjacent tennis court. Smitten by her good looks and lively nature, Paul proposed within six weeks and the two married on January 24, 1945. She endured being a lonely newlywed while Paul resumed his Army medical duties overseas.
Over the decades the couple resided in the California communities of San Francisco, Napa, and Turlock plus Philadelphia, PA., Portland, OR., Colorado Springs, CO., Harlan, KY., and Phoenix and Yuma, AZ.
Marge regretted giving up her nursing career, but the five children she had with Paul kept her busy at home.
Her interests were nature, gardening, tropical fish, painting, family and the family's cherished horses, dogs and cats. She was President of the Harlan Garden Club in the early 1970's. She enthusiastically kept in touch with her nursing school classmates with round-robin letters. While in the prime of her adulthood she was fortunate to travel domestically and internationally with her husband.
In Dec. 1980 she suffered a crippling disease wherein a virus infected her spinal cord from which she never fully recovered. In 1982 Marge and Paul moved from their longtime Harlan, KY. home and settled in Yuma, AZ.
Raised as a Methodist, Marge became a Presbyterian following marriage. She and Paul were members of First Presbyterian Church of Yuma.
Marge is survived by daughters Diana Walstad of Chapel Hill, NC., Linda Walstad of Somerton, AZ., Paula Perino of Yuma, son David Walstad of Studio City, CA. and granddaughter Marilyn Perino of Yuma. She was preceded in death by husband Paul in 2000, daughter Marilyn in 1987 and sister Beverly in 2010. Finally, she leaves behind her beloved dog Stickers.
Memorial donations may be made to The Humane Society of Yuma.
Rev. C. Philip Courtney will conduct Marge's memorial service on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Yuma. It was her wish to be cremated and Johnson Mortuary is taking care of the arrangements.
Please sign the guestbook at www.yumasun.com/obituaires