by Amy Bowman 2/15/21
With the Pandemic still in full swing, I called up Margie Warsavage to be interviewed for my story, and then, I spoke with her husband Don. Here is what I learned about them ~ hold on to your hat!
Margie & Don are both originally from Fort Collins, and both of their families moved to Westminster just west of Denver around the same time when the town was still small. They first met at the Westminster High School.
Warsavage is an interesting name to me, so I asked Don about its origins. He explained to me that his family was from Lithuania, an Eastern European country. His grandfather actually tried to poison himself to get out of going into the Russian army. In 1903, he came to America and landed in Oklahoma where he worked as a coal miner. The name Warsavage was simply an American translation of his true Lithuanian name written on his papers when he arrived here. Don’s father ended up in Lafayette, CO where he continued to work in the coal industry. Don was born in Fort Collins, and grew up in Westminster. After High School there, Don went to Regis Men’s College where he played basketball and became the Varsity Team substitute, and he attended the University of Denver after that, spending his summers working in Alaska. Don and a couple of his buddies decided to drive to Seattle, and then flew on up to Alaska to work on a tunnel being drilled up there.
During all of this time, Margie was honing her writing skills and stayed in touch with Don by sending many letters while he was away. After Don returned to Colorado, he became a lineman for Mountain Bell, now AT&T. And in 1970, Don was transferred to New York City for 3 years. They lived in New Jersey and Don worked for AT&T across the river in the Big Apple. He was a District level manager, Human Resource Director. Margie was in charge of their 3 children as they were uprooted many times over the years, but they were at home in Colorado. Denver to Brush, to Pueblo, to New Jersey, to Boulder where baby #4 arrived, and finally, landing up in Sugarloaf for 20 or so years, and now, Longmont.
Growing up in the Denver area, in Westminster when it was quite a bit smaller, Margie also told me that she and Don got married very young at 19 & 20 years old. They had met in High School initially, and went on to raise 4 children together. Margie also enjoys writing and belonged to a writing group of professional writers in Boulder, and she studied at the Taos Institute of Art for writing in New Mexico. However, travelling is her first love. In 1998, Don and Margie took a trip around the world, and they were able to visit their son who was doing missionary work in China. They have travelled to Russia and throughout Europe as well, and spent their 50th wedding anniversary in Scotland! I asked Margie if the Pandemic was over tomorrow, what would you like to do most of all ? She said without any hesitation, “Travel if I could” ~ never say never, I say!
To anchor Margie & Don, they have a large family: 4 adult children, 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. And last, but not least, they have a four-legged child at home. Riley, a 6 year old Wheaton Terrier. I had to look up the breed in my latest edition of the AKC Complete Dog Book and learned a little more about that breed: a medium sized, hardy, well-balanced sporting terrier distinguished by a soft, wavy coat of a wheaten color. Originating in Ireland, the breed is strong with a steady disposition. Okay, but Margie says Riley has a ton of energy! Riley requires lots of walking which is a good thing for you guys, right? I had two final questions:
Don: “Are you ready for Valentine’s Day, what is your game plan”? And, “what do you like best about this little church”? Don told me that he gave Margie a big bouquet of flowers earlier in the week, and that he really likes the people at the church most of all; he feels very accepted by them… And Margie?
Well, I asked Margie what her favorite thing is about the Hygiene church, and she said, “such a friendly and thoughtful congregation.” Margie went on to say that through the years they had gone to many other churches of all different denominations and never felt quite as comfortable or accepted as they do here. She remembered meeting Pastor Amos when they first arrived, and meeting Terri Goon, Vicky Andrews and the Burnesons. “So we never went anywhere else again”. Good call you two!
