Margie Seagerolsen

Margie Ann Seager-Olsen was born on October 23, 1953, in Logan, Utah to Charles Frederick Seager and Lucy LaJean Buttars, the fourth of six children. The family often moved around due to her father's military service. She lived in Metz, France, California and Louisiana, and ended up back in Logan. She attended Utah State University in Logan, and met Charles Eldon Olsen at their singles ward there. They were married and sealed on December 15, 1972, in the Logan, Utah temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She kept her maiden name, using Seager-Olsen and later Seagerolsen. She put her own degree on hold to have children and support Charley in getting his degree.

Together, Margie and Charley raised three children: Anthony (“Tony”), Gerald (“Jerry”), and Wendy, though they often said they wished they could have more. Margie supported Charley’s 44-year IBM career, which included frequent moves across eight states-Utah, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, and Arizona-and six and a half years in Germany. In Germany, she enjoyed the culture and cuisine, and began collecting Steiff animals, nutcrackers, and porcelain dolls. She enjoyed touring Europe with her family, and taught their children to appreciate culture, art and history. Margie traveled to 26 countries in her lifetime, most within an eight-year period.

A gifted artist, Margie took courses at UNC-Chapel Hill and BYU online while raising her children, but it wasn’t until after she and Charley had sent them all off to college that she returned to school full time. She and Charley (working remotely for IBM) moved to Sarasota, Florida, so she could attend the Ringling College of Art and Design. She made the Dean’s List all eight of her semesters at Ringling, and graduated with honors with her Fine Arts degree in 2001. After graduation, she taught private lessons, painted by commission, and created many portraits and still-lifes. She cared deeply for her art students. Margie had one of her works published on the cover of the Friend magazine in December 2008. She loved painting her family members, especially Charley, and always incorporated hidden Mickeys and multiple layers of symbolism in her illustrations.

Margie was engaged at 18, married at 19, had Tony at 20 and Jerry at 21. Wendy came later, when Margie was 25. By the age of 41, she was an empty nester, and at 44, she became an Oma. The day their first grandchild was born, in Seattle, Washington, she was in the middle of a semester at Ringling, in Florida. She couldn’t be in Washington, but she was so excited to be an grandmother that she baked sugar cookies all day, decorated them with the word “OMA,” and brought them to school to share with her fellow students.

Margie had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and held a variety of callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout her life, including scribe for the stake patriarch, temple worker in Frankfurt, Germany, member of stake auxiliary presidencies, and gospel doctrine teacher. She took great pride in having completing the Primary bandlo during her youth. Margie valued her experience serving as a gospel doctrine teacher, for which she prepared detailed artistic displays to enhance her Sunday lessons. She enjoyed teaching Primary children as much as she enjoyed teaching adults, and thrived while teaching the seven-year-olds in Florida for several years. While the family lived in Germany, she taught early morning seminary to her three children, since they were unable to attend the ward seminary class on the military base.

Margie took pride in being a stay-at-home mom. She enjoyed cooking and baking for her family, and decorating her home with Disney memorabilia and souvenirs from their travels. She organized family activities and games like Rook that brought her family together. She was proud of her family participating in the Hill Cumorah Pageant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Palmyra, New York, for three consecutive years. In their earlier adult years, Margie & Charley enjoyed hosting game nights, How to Host a Murder parties, and their annual Halloween party.

Margie had a deep love for all things Disney, and her favorite movie was Sleeping Beauty. Margie insisted that she and Charley buy annual Disney World Park passes while they lived near Orlando, Florida. She loved to walk around EPCOT and float on the lazy river at Blizzard Beach. She enjoyed taking her grandchildren to the parks when they would visit. She would often make us swear “Disney Honor” to verify if we were telling the truth about something. She was proud to complete Disney’s annual half marathon (with Charley) in 2013 at the age of 59.

Margie and Charley were often polar opposites. She was an art major; he was a physics major. He liked his steaks rare; she insisted on butterflied, with no pink. Charley preferred diet sodas; Margie insisted on “real” Pepsi. He was analytical; she would feel things deeply. Charley loved and worked on computers; Margie avoided them as long as she could. (She wanted it put on her headstone that she never played a computer game in her life.) Margie loved the sun; Charley found the shade. They celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary last December. Their long marriage was one of her most gratifying successes; keeping their courtship alive was paramount for her. She and Charley often took trips together, just the two of them, all over the world. Some of their favorite destinations were Maui, London, and Israel. They were also able to attend the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, where they met one of their favorite singers: John Denver.

Collecting formal hats on her travels was also one of Margie’s favorite things. She accumulated over a hundred, and wore them every week to church, where she was affectionately known as the “hat lady.” She loved the theater, especially musicals like Les Misérables and operas by Richard Wagner. She tried to teach her children and grandchildren manners, handwriting and etiquette (with varying degrees of success).

Margie struggled with many physical ailments during her life, starting in her twenties, but she also wanted it put on her headstone that she never drank nor smoked.

Margie passed away on November 18, 2025, in her home in Gilbert, Arizona. She was anxious to reunite with Charley, who had died seven months previously. We, her children, are confident of their happy reunion, and know that she is happy to be free from the pains of this life. Margie was also preceded in death by her sister Wanda Copp, her grandson Brian Levi Wise, and her parents, Charles and Lucy LaJean Seager. She is survived by her children, Anthony (Debbie), Gerald (Cheryl), Wendy (Kevin), thirteen grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and four siblings: Charles Frederick Seager (Kazumi), Christina Studer (Andy), Russell Seager (Kerilyn), and Cheri Lee (Ed).