Margaret K. Stange, age 94, of Prior Lake, MN, passed away on June 29, 2024 at New Perspective in Prior Lake.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 PM with a Visitation from 1:00 – 1:45 PM on Friday, July 5, 2024 at New Hope Baptist Church, 2020 Evergreen Ln, Shakopee, MN 55379. Margaret will be laid to rest at Spring Lake Cemetery in Prior Lake, MN.
Margaret K. Stange, age 94, of Prior Lake, MN, was born to eternal life on June 29, 2024 at New Perspective in Prior Lake. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, July 5, 2024 at 2:00 PM with visitation one-hour prior at New Hope Baptist Church(2020 Evergreen Lane) in Shakopee, MN. Margaret will be laid to rest at Spring Lake Cemetery in Prior Lake, MN.
Margaret Kathryn was born on November 11, 1929 to Fred and Lillian (Lower) Haight in Elyria, OH. The middle child of three, Margaret grew up in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky. She developed her love of music early in life, following in her parents’ footsteps. After her graduation from high school, Margaret attended Dayton University in Tennessee. She majored in French, with the hopes of being a missionary in a French speaking country. Margaret was able to serve in Quebec for some time and fondly remembered the shimmering Northern Lights traveling up there.
While she was attending Dayton, Margaret met the love of her life, John Stange. Both John and Margaret played the saxophone and together started their college musical group. Their school had a strict rule that prohibited dating couples from traveling together to college events. So John and Margaret didn’t officially date for the sake of their musical group, but they spent lots of time “practicing” their saxophones together. Finally, the two were married on November 25, 1952 at John’s hometown church in Altoona, PA. John and Margaret were blessed with two beautiful children, Kathy and Stephen.
While raising their kids, Margaret and John lived in Ohio, Illinois and South Dakota. Their lives revolved around their church community. They were always at church or playing music at the local nursing homes. They committed their lives to ministry, and they met many wonderful friends along the way because of this. The Stange family also enjoyed camping and being outdoors in nature.
Margaret was a very resourceful woman and always made do with what she had. As a child of the Depression, she never wasted a thing and was always very thrifty. She was a lifelong seamstress and never bought new if she could fix up the old. Margaret was also very strict and followed the rules. She was even known to audit the state auditors when she worked as a charge nurse at the local nursing home. She wanted to keep them on their toes and make sure they were doing their job.
After 27 years in Cheyanne, WY, Margaret and John retired and moved to Prior Lake, MN to be closer to family. Margaret loved all the special time she spent with her family over the years. She especially loved being with her grandchildren.
Margaret was an independent woman, who did things her way. She was unapologetically herself and set a wonderful example for her family. She was full of love, humor and spunk. Margaret was a feisty woman and will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her children, Kathy E. Rosecrans of Albuquerque, NM and her children Olivia, Erika, Benjamin, David, John, Margaret, Samuel, Abigail; Stephen T. (Diane) Stange of Prior Lake and his children Timothy, Michael, Daniel, Emily, Jonathan; 19 great-grandchildren; sister, Dorothy Hogdon; and other loving relatives and devoted friends.
She was reunited in Heaven with her husband, John Stange; parents, Fred & Lillian Haight; and brother, Fred Haight II.
