Marjorie Marie Kresal Howard

Margie Marie Kresal was born January 11, 1933, to Harry Elmer Kresal and Marie Josephine Kresal, (née Schmit), in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The family moved west in 1944 when Margie was just eleven and her younger brother, Ken, was only three. Marge would wistfully recall having to leave behind her treasured ice skates and beloved bicycle. There would be little need for ice skates in Oregon’s temperate Willamette Valley and there was no room for the bicycle in the overloaded car and trailer.

The family first moved to Sunrise Lane in Hillsboro. They eventually bought a five-acre property and built a home at the end of a nameless dirt road in 1951. That dirt road would become Cherry Lane and was named by Margie’s dad in honor of the many cherry trees that lined the lane and grew on the surrounding properties.

Margie attended Hilhi, graduating in 1951. (Her three children would also graduate from Hilhi, though by the time David, Jeff, and Lori graduated, the Hilhi name had been transferred to a newly built high school and the original Hilhi had become just a stepping stone to graduation, serving as a mid-high school, that all three kids attended.)

Margie married Leonard “Bunny” Parish in 1951. In 1952, nineteen-year-old Margie traveled by ship to the Philippine Islands to join Bunny, a member of the Air Force, who was stationed there toward the end of the Korean War. It was a long journey with a stopover in Guam. The enlisted men on the ship had been advised to steer clear of the military spouses, but the officers made an exception for themselves. Marge recalled with good humor waking up in her bunk after one of those nights at sea with a handmade sash draped over her neck that read “Miss Bamboo of ’52.”

Margie and Bunny returned to the United States in 1953. Margie gave birth to her first child, son David Alan, at Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake, Washington, on May 21, 1955.

The family stayed in Moses Lake until 1956 when the couple divorced.

Margie and David returned to Cherry Lane to live with Harry and Marie. Margie began working at Sawyer’s, the original manufacturer of View-Master stereoscopes.

Margie met John Howard after returning to Oregon, a young Navy serviceman whom she would eventually marry. Together, they raised sons David and Jeffrey Scott and daughter Lori Lynn.

John’s Navy service took the family to Long Beach, California, for four years. While the move meant leaving behind her mom and dad and Cherry Lane, the family was happy to be embraced by John’s mom and her husband, Lucile and Ted Crepeau, who were already living in Southern California. (Marge and Lucile maintained a close bond and loving relationship until Lucile’s passing in 2007.)

John transitioned to the Navy Reserves in 1967 and the family was able to return to Hillsboro. Marge’s parents subdivided their acreage and built a new house a literal stone’s throw from the original homestead, giving Marge, John, and the kids the welcome opportunity to put down deep roots right next to a couple of the most important people in their lives.

Sadly, however, circumstances would soon change. Marge’s mother Marie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her prognosis was not good. She passed away in October 1970. She was a sweet soul and her loss was devastating to everyone who knew her. It was felt especially keenly by her children. Marge was only 37 at the time and Ken just 29.

A difficult time followed as everyone struggled to get through this devastating loss. John was working in the engineering department of Oroweat Bakery in Beaverton and Marge soon began working at the bakery as well. It was at the bakery that Marge made some of her best and most long-lasting friendships.

It was around this time that the family started attending motocross races on the weekends, with David being the first to participate. He would soon be followed by Jeff, who eventually turned pro, and Lori, who was nearly always the lone girl on a racetrack filled with boys. For many years, Marge spent her weekends at tracks all around the Northwest with her family, being a mom to anyone who needed one. She used to make baked apple dumplings steeped in brown sugar and cinnamon for professional racer Tony DiStefano, or “Tony D,” as he was known. He called them “Apple Ds.”

John and Marge eventually decided to buy a franchise in a Suzuki dealership and built a new business in town that was co-owned by Marge’s brother, Ken, and beloved sister-in-law, Carol.

Eventually, David, Jeff, and Lori were out of the house and Marge and John decided to split ways. Marge started working as an employee for a marketing company, which led her to begin her own marketing firm, Horizon Marketing, with her cousin, Elizabeth Blahnik. These were fun and exciting years for Marge as she explored a new profession, making many friends along the way as was her custom.

It was during this time that her father’s health took a turn for the worse. Harry had struggled with neuropathy in his feet, which made it difficult for him to navigate even the short distance between their houses. After a couple of close calls, Harry fell and broke his ankle, necessitating a move to a foster home. It gradually became clear that he was also suffering from dementia and that he would not be able to return home. “Papa” passed away in April 1998, just a little over a month shy of his 94th birthday. (Shortly before he died, Harry told Marge that he was going to see Marie, who was just across the pasture.)

When Marge was ready to retire, she and Elizabeth reluctantly closed the doors at Horizon Marketing. In the years since, however, they’ve stayed open in the shared business of love, laughter, and glasses of wine.

Retirement ushered in another monumental change in Marge’s life. She left Cherry Lane for a house that was closer to Hillsboro proper. Cherry Lane had undergone a transformation from a rural setting with barns and creeks populated with kids, ponies, cats, and dogs, to a light-industrial complex that was unrecognizable from its former self. It wasn’t the same place that her parents had settled and where her kids had been raised. And the property was just too much for her to manage. As heart-breaking as it was, she packed up a lifetime’s worth of belongings and memories and moved on, buying a house on Goboes Court. (That name never quite suited her, despite spending 14 years at the same address. How do you compete with Cherry Lane and all the love and sweetness it implies?)

Marge did what she does best at Goboes Court, making a house into a home where all were welcomed. She was blessed with wonderful neighbors who became family to her and to Max and were there for her whenever she needed them. Goboes Court was the village that helped raise Max.

Young Marge loved to ice skate and roller-skate and ride horses. Later she became a bowler and loved to dance. No matter what she did, she was always so full of life.

We are going to miss her smile, her warm heart, her fashion sense, her sense of humor, her magic touch with all things clematis and fuchsia and hosta, her apple pies, her hugs, her laugh, and her beautiful eyes. We are going to miss you so much, Mom. I love you. We all love you.

Please visit the guestbook portion of this site at www.skylinememorialgardens.com

Arrangements under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Portland, OR.(503) 292-6611