Margaret Fisher

Margaret “Muggsie” Hedenberg Evenson Fisher was born November 28, 1926 in Great Falls, Montana and passed away on December 31, 2021 in her home in Sacramento. She was 95 years old. Muggsie graduated from Great Falls High School in 1943 and from the University of Minnesota in 1947 with a Bachelor of Artsin English Literature. She taught upper elementary school students at Billy Mitchell Elementary in Sacramento and La Veta Elementary in Orange, gifted and talented programs, remedial reading, adult religion and literacy, and was a life-long volunteer. She worked with the Junior Women’s Club of America; American Association of University Women; Lutheran Social Services; American Lutheran Church Women; various health, education, and inter-faith service organizations; and served as a Stephen Minister serving people in crisis. As a minister’s wife, she served several churches, including Good Shepherd Lutheran in Sacramento and Mission Lutheran in Laguna Niguel. She was a voracious reader, wrote poetry, and loved life. Gifted with a photographic memory, Muggsie recited poetry into her 90s. Her blue eyes sparkled as she recited one of her favorites: The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. She left a legacy of love captured in poems she wrote to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She loved to travel, first as a child in her dreams inspired by the books she devoured, and later on trips for both work and pleasure. Tolstoy introduced her to Russia when she was a child, which she visited in the late 1980s in support of human rights and religious freedom. Wadsworth drew her to the fields and lakes of England. She had a passion for the English Romantic poets, “Shelley spoke to my very soul”, and for debating politics with respect and good humor, preserved in her collection of presidential campaign buttons from 1896-2020. She was deeply spiritual, always grateful, and had an infectious laugh. Muggsie was loved by many and will be deeply missed by all those whose lives she touched over the years. Her family has been blessed beyond measure to have spent so much time with her. She is survived by three daughters, Bobbi Pane and K.D. Farrell (Bill) of Sacramento and Linda Evenson Wargo (John) of Killingworth, Connecticut, eight grandchildren who knew her as Mormor, and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her first husband and father of her children, Robert Evenson; second husband, Pastor Donald Fisher; stepson, Paul Fisher; sister, Helen Stearns; and niece, Joyce Dixon. The family sends a heartfelt thank you to the nurses and staff at Mercy McMahon Terrace in Sacramento. A family celebration will be held in Montana, where her journey began. For my Daughters I wish that I could give you Just a slice of the joy I’ve known The love of a wonderful family The thrill of a beautiful poem A God who has blessed me so richly With health and friends and fun And homes to always welcome me When the day was done Friendships so loyal and loving Uplifting, inspiring too Rare ones that kept giving ‘Till their very life was through! It starts with the love of a mother Surrounded by friendships so rare It ends with the love of family Wrapped with ribbons of prayer MLF