Margaret Ann Walgren

On December 12, 2025, Margaret Ann Walgren passed away at the age of over 100 years and 9 months.

Margaret was born to Anna and Martin Heesacker on March 6, 1925 and lived for over 80 years of her life on the family farm she loved located south of Hay Springs, Nebraska.

She started school a year early with her older sister, Maxine Dorshorst, as she did not want to be left behind. They attended Sandridge grade school and then Hay Springs High School. After high school, Margaret attended cosmetology school in Omaha. While there, she roomed with Jean Brennan from Alliance and they became lifelong friends.

She worked as a beautician in Alliance for several years. During that time she married William E. (Bill) Walgren, also was from Hay Springs, on May 27, 1951. Both of them wanted to return to Hay Springs. They moved to Margaret’s childhood farm and lived in the house she grew up in. There they raised three daughters, Cheri, Teena and Joan who followed in their mother’s footsteps attending the same schools.

Margaret loved working in her yard and spent many happy hours flower gardening. She was a good seamstress and cook and always took a great interest in her girls’ activities. After the girls moved away and she lost her husband, Margaret joined a card group. The card group became the center of her social life and she found endless hours of friendship and joy playing cards and going out to eat with “the ladies”. This was a tight-knit group and all other activities were scheduled around their card dates! People told us about many of their escapades.

Margaret was able to continue living on the farm much longer than would have been possible because of the help of her good friends and neighbors, especially Vicky and Bill Henwood. They would make sure her driveway was cleared of snow (after all, she had to get to the card parties), her lawn mower was working and she never lacked for delicious homemade treats. After Margaret was unable to live in Independent Living facilities in Hay Springs and Chadron, she moved to Lincoln where she lived the remaining years of her life so she could be closer to family. We will miss her.

Margaret is survived by her children, Cheri (Jerry) Jensen, Teena Cain and Joan Niemann. Grandsons Michael (Laura) Jensen, Christopher (Jana) Jensen, Aaron Cain, step-grandsons Doug (Renee) Niemann, Steve (Linda) Niemann, George III (Kacy) Niemann, step-granddaughter-in-law Jeanne Niemann. Great-grandsons William and Nicholas Jensen, Samuel Jensen, six great-step-grandchildren and four great-great-step-grandchildren.

Margaret is preceded in death by her husband William (Bill) Walgren, parents Martin and Anna Heesacker, sister Maxine (Harold) Dorshorst, son-in-law George Niemann, and step-grandson Randy Niemann.