A private inurnment will take place at a later date for Marjorie Ruth Tuckel Schmitt, 94, Lawrence, who passed away Monday, August 16, 2021, at her home. Cremation is planned.
Marjorie Ruth Tuckel Schmitt was born September 22, 1926, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. She started this life as a ‘preemie baby’ but grew into a strong, healthy, determined woman. She was the oldest of 5 children born to Harry W. and Matilda N. (Bahnmaier) Tuckel. She was of German decent and her ancestors (the Bahnmaier and Zeeb families) were some of the first farmers to settle in the Lecompton and Stull Kansas communities prior to the Civil War. Two of her ancestors, the Klaus brothers, were killed in Quantrill’s Raid in Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863, and in the 1870;s her great grandfather Herman Tuckel was a tailor in a small shop at 8th & Massachusetts St. in downtown Lawrence.
Marjorie enjoyed history and could tell you about many old Lawrence families, businesses downtown, and families and farms in the Clinton and Bloomington communities and the Lone Star area. She had a love for the houses in Old West Lawrence where she lived. She loved the outdoors and would tell stories of her life on the farm with her four younger brothers growing a garden and caring for animals. She knew many old farmer sayings and old weather proverbs. Marjorie was frugal and remembered the Great Depression and ‘the dirty thirties.’ Her father was the sexton of the Clinton Cemetery for many years and she would tell of helping him care for the grounds.
She worked her way throught high school caring for families with children including the Paul Harnar family. She graduated from Liberty Memorial High School in 1946. Every weekend Marge could be found at the roller skating rink on New Hampshire St. She was very athletic and loved to roller skate. Later in life she was an avid bowler on several teams.
Marjorie married a handsome young man named Jerry W. Schmitt from Lecompton on August 24, 1956. Blessed to this union was their son Robert W. Schmitt born July 21, 1960. Jerry, Robert, and Marge traveled to every state and enjoyed fishing and camping. Jerry preceded her in death in 2007 and her son Robert died in 2019.
She was a self-employed housekeeper and caretaker with quite a variety and lengthy list of clients. Folds just knew to call marge. As a trusted and dependable woman she possessed they keys to many homes. Always wanting to help, Marge was a problem solver who looked for a workable solution. A hard worker and never afraid to tackle a job, she was a head of her time as a ‘fix-it’ woman. She helped her uncle, Melvin Percival, refurbish old houses and apartments. For several years she and her friend Berdene Hird delivered papers for the Lawrence Journal World. She also helped her brother Lester Tuckel on his small farm.
She loved senior tours, dining out, and maintaining a social life.
Marjorie was a lifetime member of the Lecompton Historical Society. A generous person, she always gave happily from her heart.
Her love of animals grew throughout her life. She loved her little Dachshunds and always fed her wild birds. All of the wildlife knew they could get something to eat and a clean drink of water at Marge’s house. She kept a clean bowl of water out by the sidewalk in front of her house so the dogs walking by could stop for a cool drink.
In later years she developed macular degeneration but never complained. She loved to read. A curious thinker with a knowledge of current events, she would read her paper and listen to KLWN daily. She wanted to maintain her health so she would eat healthy, take her vitamins, drank plenty of water, was in bed before 10 pm, and kept active. She was a wise soul and knew something about everything. She always said ‘if something is meant to be, it will happen, and if it does not happen, it wasn’t meant to be.’
Marge was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, and brothers Lester Tuckel and Kerwin Tuckel.
Left to grieve her death are her brothers Glenn (Delores) Tuckel, Emmett (Sherry) Tuckel, close cousins Paul Bahnmaier, Elsie Middleton, Beverly Van Dyke, Roger Tuckel, Cheryl Percival, and several other cousins, nieces, nephews and many friends. Marjorie will be sadly missed by all, especially her very close backyard friend ‘Mrs. Turtle Dove.’
God Bless you, Marjorie. Rest in Peace.
