Marjorie A. McLaughlin

An on demand recording for Marjorie's Mass is available by clicking here.

Marjorie Ann McLaughlin

January 25, 1926 – September 5, 2025

Marge was the heart and matriarch of her family - lovingly referred to as the “Grand Dame” and “Queen Bee”. She was many things throughout her long life: a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, artist, golfer, bacon aficionado and loyal friend. She was strong, resilient and always ready with an opinion. She loved the big band sounds of the 1940s and, more than anything, she was proud of and grateful for the love of her family.

With nearly a century of life behind her, Marge often called herself a “walking history book.” Her early years in Louisville, Kentucky were marked by the Great Depression and the Ohio River’s Great Flood of 1937. As a teenager, she attended Loretto High School alongside some of Louisville’s most affluent young women. It was there where she discovered her gift for oil painting and deepened her Catholic faith. After graduating in 1944, she set aside her dream of nursing to support the war effort, using X-rays to inspect steel aircraft components for defects - an unseen but lifesaving role.

Marge’s greatest joy was her family. In the 1950s, she welcomed seven children with her former husband, Jack. After losing two shortly after birth, she devoted herself to raising the five children she was later blessed with in a faith-filled, loving home in Jeffersonville, Indiana. After her son, John Casey, contracted spinal meningitis as an infant in 1959, Marge remained steadfastly devoted to him, a living example of her strength and unconditional love.

By 1963, the family moved to a growing Chicago Heights neighborhood, where a cast of colorful characters introduced them to the richness of Italian culture and cuisine. Five years later, Marge meticulously designed and built her dream home in New Hope, Minnesota, where she remained rooted for more than 50 years. After raising her children, she worked in the accounting department at Powers in Minneapolis, a job she earned due to her beautiful penmanship, before joining United Hardware, just blocks from her home. Even in retirement, she stayed active, moonlighting as a hostess at the Crystal VFW - just for fun.

Throughout her life, Marge built a vibrant circle of friends. She loved playing bridge, spending time with her “Friday Girls” and gathering with her cherished Gourmet group, where friends shared meals, laughter, and a love of fine dining for more than 35 years.

Marge is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Benton and Mary Catherine McMillen; sister, Delores Ness; newborns, John and Mary; daughter, Kathleen Spartz; granddaughters, Sara and Emily McLaughlin and sister-in-law, Mary Agnes McMillen.

She is survived by her brother, Robert McMillen; children, Patrick (Deanna) McLaughlin, Timothy (Cheryl) McLaughlin, Patrick Spartz, Molly (Bradley) Anderson, and John Casey McLaughlin; 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial and luncheon will be celebrated on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation at 10:00 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Church, Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Interment will follow immediately at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery in Brooklyn Park.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Mount Olivet Rolling Acres in support of Marge’s son, John Casey. Mount Olivet Rolling Acres (ATTN: Giving); 7200 Rolling Acres Road; Victoria, MN 55386 to donate please click here.