Margaret Mary Eckman

Margo Mary (McCarten) Eckman of Minneapolis died on March 15, 2017, in Boulder, Colorado, due to complications following hip surgery. She was 97. Beloved wife of the late Judge C. Luther Eckman of Duluth, Margo is survived by their three children, Steve, Wendy and Nancy, as well as seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.Margo was born in Great Falls, Montana on December 20, 1919, the only child of Dr. Robert E. and Ann Rohr (Shannon) McCarten. Her father's medical practice and her mother's family ties with cowboy artist Charles M. Russell contributed to her life-long interest in both medicine and Russell history. As a child, Margo visited Russell in his studio, and witnessed his funeral cotillion in 1925. (Much later in life she appeared on famed PBS television show Antiques Roadshow to discuss her personal recollection of the artist, his connection to her family and displayed an original piece of Russel art which is a family heirloom.) Margo grew up and attended school in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the shadow of her beloved Wasatch Mountains. She learned to ski in high school, and pursued that sport well into her 80's. She attended the University of Utah and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. In 1940 Margo enrolled at The Mayo Clinic's Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minnesota, where she earned her Registered Nursing degree. As a student nurse she was often in Dr. Charlie Mayo's operating theater as the circulating nurse while Dr. Mayo performed plastic surgery on Canadian soldiers injured in the war. Throughout her life Margo maintained a life-long connection with the Mayo Clinic, her fellow nurses, and generations of Mayo Clinic physicians. Margo returned to Salt Lake City as a registered nurse whose skills were in high demand at short-staffed wartime hospitals. A young lawyer from Duluth was assigned to Salt City Army Intelligence, which job required him to live undercover as a civilian. He rented a room at Margo's family home. Sometimes Margo accompanied Lute on jeep rides into the Utah deserts when Japanese hot air balloons, suspected of carrying germ warfare, had been sighted. In 1944, she and Luther (Lute) Eckman married and they traveled to Duluth on their honeymoon. She was an only child so Lute's family, a large, close-knit Swedish-Lutheran clan must have been a startling contrast, but she loved being one of the gang. After the war they moved permanently to Duluth and Lute practiced law in the west end, and eventually became a distinguished District Court Judge. She and Luther were members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for over forty years. Margo volunteered as a den mother for Boy Scouts, a Brownie leader for Girl Scouts, was a member of several organizations including Duluth Woman's Club, College Club, P.E.O., PTA and as an RN she volunteered at UMD giving physicals and vaccinations. She was a life-long learner and studied Spanish at the local high school, audited history, medicine, literature, philosophy, ancient civilizations, the Civil War, religion, and biology classes at UMD. During the height of the polio epidemic, she was a tireless advocate who successfully led a city-wide campaign to inoculate school-age children with the newly discovered Salk polio vaccine. Margo also was one of the first to become aware of the dangers of DDT after listening to Rachael Carson's book, A Silent Spring read aloud on Wisconsin Public radio. She warned city officials of the danger of spraying in the neighborhood which led to an eventual ban in Duluth. In 1983, Luther and she moved permanently into a condominium on the 20th floor in downtown Minneapolis, where she lived until she died. After Luther died, in 1987, Margo became a world traveler, going alone or with Evelyn Anderholm, one of her best friends from Duluth. Whether climbing ruins in Central America, riding camels in Africa, crawling pyramids in Egypt, or strolling the night streets of Hong Kong, Margo was known by���and made friends with everyone. The defining characteristic of Margo Eckman, especially in her later years, was her remarkable interest in making friends with strangers. She would often talk to strangers; these were people at bus stops, at an adjoining table, seat-mates on long-haul flights and many of these strangers became life-long friends. She flattered, complimented and congratulated without a hint of criticism everyone and found something beautiful or interesting in each person. Margo was fiercely independent, despite the infirmities of age, which caused her children and caregivers problems. She was not to be hemmed in however. Even on her deathbed, she spent her last breaths proclaiming the beautiful eyes of the nurse's aides and the handsome features of the hospital custodians rather than complain about her own deteriorating condition. Margo was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, Dr. Robert E. McCarten and Ann Rohr Shannon Francis, her cherished step-father, Fred Francis, her step-brother Dr. Fred Francis (Mildred), her brothers-and-sisters-in law, Dr. Philip F. Eckman (Hildur), R. Vern Eckman (Hildur), Edith Eckman Anderson (Frank), and Dr. Ralph J. Eckman (Irene). She was also preceded in death by numerous beloved nieces and nephews. She is survived by her three children, Stephen Shannon Eckman (Linda), Wendy Eckman, Nancy Eckman Clanton, and seven grandchildren, Britt Clanton (Rebecca), Anders C. Eckman, Dr. Leigh Clanton Hickerson (Jay), Elizabeth K. Eckman, Shannon Eckman-Carlson (Steven), William T. Weil (Nicolette) , Lukas Eckman Weil, and two great grandchildren, Lane Clanton and Maya Hickerson. She is also survived by nephews and nieces Dr. Philip L. Eckman (Julie), Barbara Eckman Krig, Suzanne Anderson Lund, Joanne Anderson Linnes, Dr. Mathew Eckman (Kay), Dr. Mark Eckman (Mary), Louise Eckman Engstrom, Pauline Anderson Dee (Richard,) Margaret Eckman Anderson (Rich) and James H. Francis. Services for Margo Eckman will be held on Sunday, April 30, 2017, at Westminster Presbyterian Church Minneapolis, visitation at 1:00 o'clock , followed by a memorial service in the chapel at 1:30 p.m. A reception will follow at the church. Memorials preferred to the Eckman Family Fund at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN.