Margaret Sophia Grace Zarndt

Margaret Sophia Grace Zarndt Tellmann, 97, died on Saturday May 24 at her home in New Salem. Where she lived most of her life. Cremation has taken place and a memorial service to celebrate her life will be held on Saturday June 14 at 2:00PM at New Salem United Church of Christ.. We would welcome any stories you would like to share during the memorial. Interment will be at Peace church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the New Salem Ambulance Fund or the Central Dakota Humane Society. Margaret was born on February 15, 1917, on the farm that her grandfather homesteaded. She lived the life of a farm girl, helping with chores; milking, separating cream, raising turkeys. She spent her early school years at Garfield Number 1, a one room country school. Growing up in the depression and dust bowl were a defining point in her life. She always figured out how to make do or put something to use that might otherwise be tossed aside. She stayed at home on the farm to help raise her 2 younger brothers and run the farm when her mother was taken ill and died. She met her husband Bill Zarndt when his sister Helen was a teacher at Garfield number one school. It is rumored that Bill volunteered to deliver eggs to the farm. They married on November 22, 1945, and lived on the Tellmann farm for the next 2 years where a son Frederick was born in 1947. Soon after, they packed up and moved to Kalispell where cousin Wilma Krueger and her husband Fritz, lived. They settled on a farm by the Stillwater River and 1948 they had a daughter Conradine. Farm life continued , gardening, baking, moving irrigation pipe, raising chickens and a family. In 1953 another child came along, daughter Janet. And in 1955 they had another son they named John. Life continued and they started missing family so in 1960, after all the chickens died from disease , they moved back to New Salem, where they settled in the old Henry Tellmann home next door to her dad. where she lived for the next 54 years of her life. Husband Bill farmed south of town and rented land in the Bluegrass area and Margaret began work at the New Salem Credit Union as bookkeeper, where she worked for the next 14 years. Margaret was an avid gardener. With the help of Bill and the kids she kept an enormous garden which she canned and froze to feed her family throughout the year. She also had her creative side, making and selling candles, learning to paint and joining fellow New Salem women in painting the New Salem centennial mural in the auditorium. Margaret loved birds, flowers and cats. Her yard and house were full of flowers there was always a full bird feeder in her yard. And she always had a cat. If there was a stray cat hanging around in the winter she would leave the back garage door cracked open as a refuge. One of her favorite cats was a stray that she took in and named Alley. She was always ready to share the bounty of her gardenzucchini anyone?. She knew how to make delicious jams and jellies not to mention rhubarb pie, winning many ribbons at the county fair. After her husband Bill died in 1984, she traveled. From glaciers in Alaska, to Switzerland, to New York City to the Cook Islands. Visiting with friends and family was the highlight of her later life. While her life was not easy, she rarely complained, always facing adversity with a positive attitude. She taught us to respect others and to be generous to those who had less than we did, to be thankful for what we had. She always lent a sympathetic ear to other people, ready to help, bake some cookies, or hot dish or just listen without judgment. She was preceded in death by her 2 brothers, William Tellman of New Salem and Donald Tellmann of Denver and her husband William Zarndt. She is survived by her son, Fred Zarndt Teresa of San Diego, daughter Jan Zarndt Greg Ellison of Spokane, son John Zarndt Amy of Bozeman and Connie Zarndt of Anchorage, who had been living with her and caring for her. She is also survived by 4 granddaughters: Rachel of San Diego, Sarah of Anchorage, Elizabeth of Draper, UT, Jamie of Bozeman, one great-granddaughter Chloe and one great-grandson Gabriel. Margaret has touched many lives and will be greatly missed.

Margaret Sophia Grace Zarndt

February 15, 1917 - May 24, 2014