Marjorie Hultquist

Marjorie Hultquist Obituary

Marjorie Hultquist, age 93, formerly of Palos Heights, passed away Monday, January 6th, 2025. She was born Doris Marjorie Schee on October 19th, 1931 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Yes, she was a cheese-head by birth. Go Packers! Margie was the oldest daughter of the late Harold (Cookie) and Doris Schee. She was named Doris, after her mother, but was always called by her middle name. Marj, Margie, Marjorie. If anyone ever called her Doris, she’d say “That’s not me, that’s my mother.” 

Marjorie graduated from Blue Island Community High School in 1949. A blind date in Valparaiso, Indiana paired her with the love of her life, Lee Hultquist. Returning to her birth state for college, Marjorie graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a Liberal Arts Degree in Interior Design. She was also a member of UW’s Synchronized Swim Club while attending classes there. Go Badgers! After her college graduation, and Lee’s return from the Army which sent him to Korea, they were married on the 7th of March 1953.

In the spring of 1955, they began building their forever home in Palos Heights. They moved in 5 months later and almost immediately got involved in their new home town. Over the years living in Palos, Marj became very active in the community. The list of her accomplishments is extensive, with most of her time volunteering at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, the Palos Heights Woman’s Club, and Girl Scouts. 

After taking classes in accounting and bookkeeping, she managed the office operations of Hultquist Mason Contractors which she and Lee ran as they built homes in Chicago and the southwest suburbs. Marjorie also worked “uptown” Palos Heights at Bud’s Store for Men as their bookkeeper/accountant for many years as well as a short stint working for a local accountant in Palos Heights. Marjorie kept up a very busy schedule as she continued her volunteering all the while she was working for the businesses in Palos. 

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was a second home to her. Marj attended weekly Bible study groups, sang in the choir, joined the church bowling league, helped out working in the church office, was a Deacon, served as the Chairperson of the Church Council for 2 terms, and served on several committees including the Call Committee which worked to select new pastors for Good Shepherd as needed. Marjorie also traveled with the church group for several years as they headed south to help rebuild homes affected by the hurricanes.

Marj was also very involved with the Palos Heights Woman’s Club, staying a devoted member for 67 years. She served on the Board as President and also Treasurer at one point. Later on she became Parliamentarian for the Board. She got involved with many of the fundraisers they had including their annual flower sale, being one of the “Cookie Ladies” selling baked goods at the annual Christmas Walk, working to help bring the “Gazebo in the Park” to fruition and sold commemorative paver bricks to surround the Gazebo. She was also one of the originators of the annual Road Rally which was a huge hit until the big gas shortage in the early 70's that put a damper on unnecessary driving.

When Marjorie grew up, she was a Girl Scout and decided to carry on the Girl Scouting tradition with her daughters. She was one of the first groups of girls who went away to Camp Manistee in Montague, Michigan - a Girl Scout Camp where girls would spend 2 weeks in the summer learning how to live outdoors - camping, cooking, swimming, canoeing, hiking, etc. So as her daughters grew up, they all joined the Girl Scouts and spent many summers up in the woods of Camp Manistee like their mother had done before them. Marj also helped out with all the scouting ventures throughout the year as she would be a leader for each of her daughters’ Girl Scout troops. She also coordinated “The Girl Scout Road Show” which traveled around the area promoting Girl Scouting to others. When Summer Day Camp rolled around, Marj didn’t just become leader of a unit at the camp, she would be the Day Camp Director, running the whole 2-week daily sessions of camp experience in a local Forest Preserve. When her daughters completed their Girl Scouting days, Marj volunteered for a while with the South Cook County Girl Scout Council.

With Marj’s love for her community, and being an avid Bridge player, she did end up teaching Beginning and Advanced classes in “Playing Bridge” through the Palos Heights Park District. When the city began the development of Lake Katherine, both she and Lee jumped in to help. The two of them were involved with working on the development of the waterfall and its surroundings and the rebuilding of the stone fireplace which was moved there to go inside the lodge. Marj and Lee both got together with friends over the years to decorate Lee’s work truck and join in the annual Palos Heights 4th of July parade. They also helped start “The Road Runners” or Mayor Bailey’s camping bunch. A group of Palos Heights residents, with about 26 couples who for several years held an annual camping weekend full of fun and games, swimming, hiking, camping, bonfires and the like.

With all that Marj did around the community, she still found more time for family, friends and herself. She enjoyed family trips which she planned that took her and Lee and their 4 children to various places - camping, of course - around the country. Although they traveled to places like the Grand Canyon, Pikes Peak, Mt. Rushmore, Mackinac Island, Lake Superior and even Disney World, she also enjoyed planning weekend trips away to local campgrounds mainly around the shores of Lake Michigan. Her favorite campsite though, was “the valley”. Nestled below the bluffs, along 2 trout streams, across from an old country church and local dairy farms, her uncle had bought a plot of unusable farmland in a beautiful valley near the little town of Westby, Wisconsin, where she had spent her summers as a schoolgirl. She always looked forward to the annual Schee Family Reunion camping weekend in the valley every summer.

Married to Lee was so much fun for her. As a couple they did so many things together. They were always a hit on the dance floor at weddings. They hosted many New Year’s Eve parties in their basement and picnics in their backyard. They played Bridge in a couple’s group and joined a bowling league. They hosted many “themed” dinner parties for friends and neighbors. Marj enjoyed the planning and creativeness of her ideas as well as “dressing the part” for each of these themed parties. Margie also loved taking long walks with Lee, hand-in-hand, after dinner on warm summer nights.

As Lee left this world way too soon, Marj still kept herself active. Still working but adding other adventures to her days. She took the free weekly classes offered by Moraine Valley Community College with her best friend, she went camping often with another good girlfriend from the neighborhood - just the two of them in a little van-camper the neighbor had. She drove by herself to Michigan and even 9 hours to Minnesota to visit her daughters and their families. When her cousin and his wife asked her to join them on a 2-week trip to Norway and Sweden she didn’t hesitate. They were able to visit the country of their grandparents and reconnect with family members still there. When friends asked her to go, she even managed to take off to Paris for a long weekend with them. 

Marj had season tickets to the Opera and the Symphony Orchestra, taking the train downtown with friends for lunch and a performance. She would walk in the mornings with friends around different neighborhoods in Palos. She had an annual birthday brunch outing with friends who had fall birthdays like hers and met seasonally with a group of her high school friends for lunch. She would take turns with neighbors hosting a night of conversation and a glass of wine whenever they felt like it. Margie also played the piano, usually for her own enjoyment, on the Grand piano which was gifted to her by her father. She loved to play cards. If it wasn’t Bridge, she played various solitaire games as well as card games and board games with her children and grandchildren. And there was always a puzzle to work on at the table. Margie liked to sew and knew how to knit which she enjoyed doing for many years in her younger days. She also dabbled in oil painting, following suit of her aunts who were avid artists. As she loved the outdoors and nature, she enjoyed gardening and planting flowers around her home. Marj also liked “going to the lake” as she was always ready to go whenever her kids asked her to join them at any of their lake houses. She would swim and float and boat and just enjoy the peacefulness of “lake life”. She could still tread water out in the lake and even hold up a pretty decent ballet leg from her old synchronized swimming days. She liked lounging on the beach and sunning herself or sitting around a fire at night roasting marshmallows and star gazing. Marj was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved kids and was so good and playful with all of her children and grandchildren - they meant the world to her. Marjorie was a quiet, sweet and fun-loving person with a great sense of humor. She was dedicated to her family, her friends and her faith. She made an impression on all the lives she touched throughout her 93 years. The wonderful and caring life-long friends she made over the years were innumerable - indeed a tribute to her kindness and character. Margie will truly be missed by all who knew her. However, she is now with all of her family and friends who preceded her to heaven and surrounding those still here with love and a smile as she watches from above.

Marjorie is preceded in death by her husband Lee Hultquist, her sister and brother-in-law Sally & David Hoeveler, Lee’s sister and brother-in-law June & Don Glennon, her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. 

She is survived by her children Gail (Ed) Pollister, Kay (Craig) Elam, Brett (Sharon) Hultquist and Jill (Todd) Call. Also with fond memories of their grandmother are her 14 grandchildren: Jamie (Dave) Sage, Chad (Kristie) Wachtor, Kurt Wachtor, Grant Wachtor, Todd (Katie) Elam, Scott (Kelly) Elam, Jodie (Peter) Hoffman, Nicki Elam, Corie (DJ) Bubolz, Kelsey Elam (fiancé David Beckendorff), Erik Hultquist, Cody (Dani) Call, Casey Call, Chris Call. Margie also had 19 great-grandchildren plus 1 due in July. She so loved meeting the little ones she was able to and seeing pictures of those she wasn’t fortunate enough to meet in person. She always smiled so sweetly, looking at their pictures and reaching out to touch them. 

A celebration of Marjorie’s life will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Palos Heights on Saturday, March 22, 2025. The family will receive friends beginning at 10:30 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. in the church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to either Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 7800 W. McCarthy Road, Palos Heights, IL 60463 where Marjorie was a member since the late 1950’s or to Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center. Norskedalen (which means Norwegian Valley) is dedicated to preserving, interpreting and sharing the natural environment and the Norwegian heritage of the area in southwest Wisconsin. Margie, of Norwegian descent, was very fond of Norskedalen as she spent her summers growing up in the coulee region. Visit norskedalen.org or donations in memory of Marjorie Schee Hultquist may be sent to Norskedalen at P.O. Box 235, Coon Valley, WI 54623.