Dr. Margaret Skold

Dr. Margaret (Marge) Skold

Dr. Margaret Mary (Marge) Skold, 80, mother, grandmother, educator, world traveler, competitive Bridge player, knitter, and patron of the arts passed away on July 25th in Omaha, Neb. in the presence of family and her beloved dog Wyatt.

Marge was born on September 25th, 1944, in Benson, MN to Douglas and Margaret Skold. She attended Iowa State Teachers College (later renamed the University of Northern Iowa) where she studied English and met her former husband Michael Charles Phipps. Their son Michael Anthony was born while they both completed their undergraduate degrees. After short stays in the Des Moines area and Marengo, IA, the couple moved to Fort Madison, Iowa where they had their second child Sarah Jeanne.

They then relocated to Waterloo, Iowa and Marge raised her two children, went back to school and got her Masters degree, and worked part-time as a teacher at the Hawkeye Institute of Technology as well as on the rewrite desk of the Waterloo Courier.

She eventually went full-time at HIT, now known as Hawkeye Community College, and began to blossom in the world of academia. She helped develop the HIT General Technology Degree program, helped build and eventually became the director of the HIT Success Center, a program focused on workers returning to school in the face of an uncertain and slowing economy.

As her drive to personally succeed continued to grow, she again went back to school, commuting every other weekend to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA., to earn her Doctorate in Higher Education and Community College Governance. After completing her doctorate work, she was named the first chairperson of HCC's Department of Communication, Social Sciences, and the Humanities. While she was still unpacking her new office, she was recruited to the position of Dean of Instruction at Centralia College in Centralia, WA.

During her tenure in Centralia, Marge worked to expand and improve the educational offerings focusing on the needs of not just the students but the community as well.

Seven years later, Marge returned to the Midwest to take the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs at Harper College in Schaumburg, IL. While there, Marge worked with the college administration as well as the surrounding communities to enhance the academic opportunities at Harper through the expansion of course offerings, partnerships with other educational institutions, and the development of new programs designed to meet the changing needs of students and the community. She was also a member of the Fox Valley Library Board of Trustees.

Marge retired in 2010 but continued to pursue her passions for travel and knitting. Over the years, her travels took her from Antarctica to Finland, from China to various countries in Europe. She was particularly fond of Norway, perhaps a nod to her Scandinavian heritage.

Marge died after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. She is survived by her children Sarah Phipps Johnson of Omaha and Michael Anthony Phipps of Glastonbury, CT as well as their spouses Karl Johnson and Elizabeth Rinehart who she thought of as her own children. She also leaves Michael's daughter, her granddaughter, Brontë Jeanne Phipps. The eldest of six siblings, she is also survived by her sisters, Barbara Zahn, Pat Skold, Katherine Skold-Smith, Jennifer Schwegman, her brother Doug Skold, their spouses and their children.

At Marge's request, there will be no public memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, Marge requested donations be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.