Margaret Baer

Margaret Baer, 102, died with her loving family at her side Feb. 9, 2013, at Primrose Retirement Community in Wasilla.

A celebration of life is at 11 a.m., Feb. 14 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1201 E. Bogard Road, Wasilla. A visitation is at 10:30 a.m. at the church prior to the service. A reception will immediately follow the service. Father Scott will officiate.

Margaret was born Feb. 15, 1911, in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc., the youngest of five children, to Grant Sherman and Margaret Rose Beardsley.

Margaret graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1935. Margaret met and married Leonard Baer, and together they built a home by the Wisconsin River in Port Edwards, where they raised three children. They spent their leisure time at a cottage in northern Wisconsin hunting and fishing. They traveled through Europe, cruised the Caribbean and vacationed in Hawaii.

Margaret was a competitive curler and lived in Port Edwards for 65 years before moving to Anchorage. She was known for her beautiful flower gardens in Wisconsin and at her Anchorage home, which she had built at the age of 88.

Her love of playing bridge was well known, as well as her passion for fishing. She caught her last silver salmon when she was 100 years old and was very upset when the Little Susitna closed this past summer, though she still fished at the family cabin. She volunteered all her life for children’s activities, church, hospitals and even in the library at the Anchorage Senior Center, where she played bridge until her move to Wasilla in 2009.

The family wrote: “Margaret was an elegant lady with a beautiful smile and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew her.”

Surviving are her son and daughter-in-law, Dick and Peggy of Huntington Beach, Calif.; daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Jim Podvin of Wasilla; and daughter and son-in-law, Susan Olson DeYoung and Mike.

Preceding her in death was her husband, Leonard; grandson, Pat Podvin; and son-in-law, Rick Olson.

Donations may be made to your local Hospice or charity of your choice.

Arrangements were by Valley Funeral Home and Crematory. Please visit Margaret’s obituary and online guestbook at AlaskanFuneral.com.