Margaret A. Livingston

Margaret Livingston, age 102 of White Bear Lake and formerly Hastings, died peacefully on Saturday morning, January 25, 2020, at White Pine Senior Living in White Bear Lake. Margaret was born in Stillwater, MN to Anna Margaret (Schultz) Gussman and John Carl ("JC") Gussman. Her parents met at a boarding house in Stillwater, where her dad was a druggist at a pharmacy on the corner of Main Street and Chestnut. Margaret was the third of three children with two older brothers, Ray (7) and Earl (4). When Margaret was 6 months old, the family moved to 136 So. Oxford Av. at Lincoln Av. in St. Paul. Her parents divorced when she was five. Because Anna was an excellent seamstress, she was able to find a job working in a sewing factory to support her growing family. She sold their house and moved to a more-low maintenance apartment with the three children at 237 Arundel at Selby in St. Paul, where she soon became a landlord for the building. Margaret attended John Marshall Grade School and John Marshall Junior High from kindergarten through eighth grade. She went on to high school at St. Paul Central, where she excelled in math, bookkeeping, and tennis, and graduated in l935 at the age of 17. Throughout her teenage years while her mother was at work, Margaret helped at home with household chores like dusting and vacuuming, washing clothes (in the cellar with the old wringer/washer(!), and hanging them out on the clothesline to dry---and then, steam-ironing them all! Throughout her life, Margaret was always a meticulous housekeeper. Even into her nineties in the care center, she still was able to make her own bed perfectly each day (with square corners!) She always wished that she had a father during those formative years, and she promised herself that she would someday have a wonderful, carefree family life! Margaret's first job was at age 15 when she was hired as a stock girl in Meisner's Dime Store, stocking greeting cards. Then, she moved into the record department. Being a knock-out red-head, one day, the manager, Jake Nevil from the Mayflower Company, came in and asked her if she'd be interested in selling records for big record companies like Nickelodeon. She was thrilled---and worked there for several years until she met and married the love of her life, Jeff Livingston. Margaret and Jeff were introduced by mutual friends and began dating steadily while Jeff was working at Snyder's Drug Store and Soda Fountain a few blocks away. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1942, Jeff popped "the question" and Margaret accepted. Jeff then joined the Navy, and soon got his first assignment. They were married at Redeemer Lutheran on Dale Av. in St. Paul on February 21, 1942. A small reception was held at the Ryan Hotel, following the ceremony. In the days to follow, Margaret accompanied Jeff from military base to military base from coast to coast until finally he was assigned to the European Theater at the outbreak of World War II and the Invasion of Normandy where he was a tail gunner. He was finally discharged in 1944 and their first child, Margaret Ann, was born on November 14, 1945. Jeff got a job working for Ford Motor Company and selling cars became his life-long career. In June 1949, their second child, Nancy Lou, was born, which completed their family. Margaret and Jeff lived with Grandma Anna ("Nonnie") in the Arundel apartment until 1950 when they bought their first home at 2084 Jefferson Av. in St. Paul. Margaret became a dedicated wife and at-home mom, taking on leadership in all kinds of activities, beginning with President of the local VFW, room mother, PTA President, Girl Scout and Campfire Girls leader, not to mention bridge and canasta groups, bowling leagues, and finally, their life-long passion: GOLF! In the fifties, they joined Southview Country Club and began taking golf lessons and playing regular semi-weekly golf matches. They made new friends and built a whole new social life around their newfound sport---and they became good at it! In l962, Jeff decided to leave Ford Motor and buy a Ford dealership in Hastings. He called it Livingston Ford, and Hastings became their new hometown. They joined the Hastings Country Club and it wasn't long before each of them served as President of the Men's and Women's Golf Association. They enjoyed decades of year-round golf, road-tripping to Tucson in the winter with some of their Hastings friends who shared their passion. Jeff lived with Margaret here in Hastings for forty-seven years until he died peacefully in his sleep in 2009 at Augustana Care Center. Margaret lived here for fifty-three years until she moved into Carefree Cottages of North St. Paul and then White Pine Care Center in White Bear Lake, where she finally died peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of January 25, 2020. Margaret's dream had been fulfilled. She lived the life she had always hoped for with the man who shared her hopes and dreams. Jeff came from a broken home, as well. Neither of them had a father at home, and they knew firsthand what kind of struggle that meant, but somehow, they knew that the power of love is the secret to a happy family life! Love is stronger than the forces of discord: revenge, jealousy, and regret! Together, they enjoyed co-parenting their two daughters, who gave them the joys of eight grandchildren, and eighteen great-grandchildren! Life was good! Together, they built their family around love. Jeff's advice was: "Find something you love and someone you love to do it with," and that suited Margaret just right! Margaret is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Brainerd ("Jeff") Livingston and survived by two daughters, Margaret Ann (Livingston) Fabyanske and Nancy Lou Livingston, as well as eight much-loved grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren, and other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 8, 2020, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Hastings, with Reverend Lloyd Menke officiating. Private family interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis in the Spring. Family and friends are cordially invited to a visitation from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., and to a reception immediately following the service, all at church on Saturday, February 8, 2020. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church or to the donor's choice in memory of Margaret. Arrangements are being completed by Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel of Hastings.