Marcia Jean (Huppler) Koehn, age 80, of Prior Lake, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, June 17th, 2023 from NASH liver cancer. A celebration of life will be held for Marcia on Friday, June 23rd at 4 PM, with visitation from 1 – 4 PM, both at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, 4565 Pleasant St SE, Prior Lake.
Born on April 15th, 1943, Marcia was the middle child of 5 born to parents John and Elizabeth “Biba” Huppler. The family moved around, settling in Neenah, Wisconsin. Growing up Marcia was involved in the Girl Scouts, following in the footsteps of her mother. She was also very involved in school and different student activities. While in school, Marcia met Richard Koehn, a fellow student and her high school sweetheart. Marcia became the valedictorian of her high school class and went on to study at Beloit College. Later transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to earn her degree in education while following her sweetheart, Richard. Marcia and Richard got married in Neenah, Wisconsin on January 25th, 1964.
As newlyweds they moved around, eventually landing in the Detroit area, where they had their 3 kids; Jennifer, Lisa, and Tim, all within 13 months of each other. The family then relocated to St. Louis Park to be closer to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Marcia loved spending time within the BWCA and other National Parks, creating many fond memories for her family. Later on, Marcia and her family moved south of Prior Lake where they designed, built, and finished their home.
As her kids grew older, she realized that her calling was to provide a place where children could be creative and learn as children should. She started a childcare center, Rocking Horse Ranch, in 1992. Marcia loved to spend time at Rocking Horse Ranch, even providing special lessons to enrich the children’s education such as horseback riding in the summer, spanish lessons, and Friday art projects. She made cookies for every event and handcrafted gifts for all of the staff every year.
Later in life, Marcia began a new chapter as a grandma. She truly enjoyed spending time with her 8 grandchildren. She loved to introduce her grandkids to new adventures and experiences, from baking to traveling, crafting to gardening, and everything in between. When not with her grandkids, she filled her time by traveling the world and being involved in one of her many projects, including working on the family cabin up north.
Always on the move, and chronically late (“Just one more thing!”), Marcia’s loving, caring, generous heart will forever be missed by her children, Lisa (Mark) Weiss and Tim (Rachelle) Koehn; son-in-law, Sean Thomas; grandchildren, Aria and Austin Thomas, Ryan, Erin and Jayme Weiss, Abby, Josh, and Alex Koehn; siblings, Jack (Priscilla) Huppler, Kay Eberman, David (Barbara) Huppler, and Karl (Lynette) Huppler; dog, Toby; and many other relatives and friends.
Marcia is preceded in death by her husband, Richard; daughter, Jennifer; and parents, John and Elizabeth.
