Marge Novak 1915-2021 Marge ….
Marge Novak 1915-2021
Marge Novak’s life began as Marguerite Sailer in Helena, Montana, on June 20, 1915. Both her mother and father immigrated from Germany in the early 1900s. She grew up in Helena, having lost her mother at age 4 to the Spanish flu. She received her nursing degree and met Joseph (Joe) Novak in 1938. They were married in 1940. They settled in Butte in a house they built. They had three children by 1948. After being discharged from the Army Air Corps, Joe went back to school, earning a BS in mining engineering in 1950 at the Montana School of Mines, courtesy of the GI Bill.
Their lives took a challenging and adventurous turn when Joe took a position with Anaconda Copper Mining Company in northern Chile. Their fourth child, Mary, was born in Chile shortly after they arrived in 1953. Marge Novak died on Oct. 18 in Seal Beach, California. She is survived by four children: daughters Joan Gordon (Mark), Jean Cattaneo (Stephen) and Mary Novak (Ted Franklin); and son Stephen Novak (Susan); six grandchildren; and 17 greatgrandchildren. Also surviving are two nieces and a nephew’s family.
Marge was a true renaissance woman. She was an accomplished card player, bridge being her favorite. She knitted, crocheted and sewed, making clothes for herself and her daughters. Marge was also an outstanding cook.
She won various trophies for golfing and bowling. After departing Chile in 1971, Marge and Joe spent time in British Columbia, Canada; Western Australia; and the Philippines, before settling in Stockton in 1978. Marge, always giving of herself, volunteered at a cardiac rehab center and a senior center.
Marge and Joe moved to Leisure World, Seal Beach, in 1997, and they took part in various club activities. As she got older, Marge realized that keeping fit was important. They kept in shape by swimming three times a week and walking 2 miles daily for close to two decades. Even after the age of 100, she worked out at the Leisure World gym several times weekly until COVID struck.
Joe died in 2011 and is buried in the National Veterans’ Cemetery near Riverside. Marge is buried next to him.
The Braille Institute and its programs introduced Marge to audio books after her eyesight started to fail. She listened to over 2,900 titles and kept a log to keep track of what she heard.
Right up to the end, Marge loved to travel. She never passed up an invitation. At 100 years old, she visited the island of Kauai, and went on a sailing trip, receiving a standing ovation from the other passengers when the captain announced her age.
This passion and zest for life had kept her very much alive. Her positive attitude and quest to exercise made her “the energizer bunny”—she kept “going and going and going!”
Her life motto was “Live It Up!”
