Marjorie (Marge) Even

Marjorie (Marge) Even, 95, of Madison passed away on Friday, May 17, 2024 at Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison.  Funeral services will begin at 11 am on Wednesday, May 22 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.  Visitation with family present will begin at 5 pm on Tuesday with a prayer service held at 7 pm at Kinzley Funeral Home, Madison.  Burial will follow the funeral service at St. Ann’s Catholic Cemetery, Humboldt, SD.

Marjorie May was born on January 18, 1929 to Floyd and Rose (Gstohl) Wheeler in Salem, SD.  The fourth of the couple’s six children, they lived a quiet, simple life.  Following the untimely death of her mother during childbirth in December of 1932, Marjorie went to live with her aunt and uncle, Frank and Mary Kolbeck of Salem, SD.  She attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Salem.  Marjorie married Donald V. Even, of Humboldt, SD on January 18, 1949.  They farmed in the Franklin area, later moving to Howard, where they owned and operated the City Café.  In 1972, they moved to Madison.

Marge was an active member of St. Thomas Catholic Church and the Altar Society.  She was well known for her generous heart, dedicated to helping those in need by establishing and running the Front Porch Clothing Giveaway for several years. In the 1990’s, Marjorie assisted her husband in establishing the Lake County Right to Life.

She is survived by:  two sons, Larry (Bev) Even and Mark (Jeanne) Even, both of Madison; one daughter, Rose (Mark) Stephenson of Madison; one son-in-law, Dean Vollmer of Sioux Falls; one daughter-in-law, Deb Even of Sioux Falls; 23 grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; brother, Kenneth (Catherine) Wheeler of Susanville, CA and half-brother, Stanley (Judith) Wheeler of Georgetown, TX.

Marge was preceded in death by her husband, Don, her parents, Floyd and Rose, two brothers, Eugene Wheeler and Richard Wheeler, two sisters, Louine (Butch) Schaufler and Bernice (Boyd) Moon, one daughter, Diane Vollmer and one son, Richard Even and grandchild, Rubin Beck-Stephenson.