Marguerite Saecker

MADISON- Marguerite (Peggy) Landis Saecker, age 80, of Madison, WI, died on January 4, 2016 at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, WI after a courageous battle with multiple myeloma. The daughter of Ralph V. Landis and Pearl Bauer, she was born on May 1, 1935 in Appleton, WI during a spring blizzard. Her father, a surgeon, carried her mother through the snow to St. Elizabeth's hospital and oversaw her birth. Largely raised in Appleton, a memorable part of her childhood was spent at Chanute Field (Rantoul, IL) during WWII where her father was chief of surgery. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University with a BA in history in 1957 and then attended Edinburgh University in Scotland as a Fulbright Scholar. On her return to Wisconsin in 1958 she enrolled in an accelerated one-year program at UW-Madison, earning a master's degree in both education and history in 1959.

On July 31, 1960 she married her lifelong love and partner Peter A. Saecker in Appleton. She spent the next 52 years in Oak Park (OP) and neighboring River Forest, IL raising her family and actively participating in the community. After teaching history and economics at Oak Park River Forest HS from 1959 to 1963, she rejoined the faculty in 1974 as the history and economics librarian. During the 1960's and 1970's she fought for fair housing, civil rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1971 she was elected to the Oak Park Public Library board, serving until 1979. As a long time member of the Friends of the OP library, she organized the book fair for many years; she and Peter ran the library's film series during the 25 years preceding the VHS era. As a member of the League of Women Voters, she worked on the efforts to write and ratify the current Illinois constitution. Other activities included being a girl scout/brownie troop leader, memberships in American Association of University Women, the 19th Century Club, the literary society Phi Sigma, and the First United Church of OP.

Retiring in 1993, she spent the next 18 years fulfilling her passion for exploration by traveling extensively around the world, including unique trips to Cuba, Iran, Syria and Libya. In 2012 she moved from River Forest to Madison, WI to be closer to her family. An avid reader, tennis player, swimmer, cyclist, photographer and gardener, she loved theater, music and any museum. She enjoyed watching professional tennis tournaments and the Packers and Brewers win. She cheered on her beloved Cubs to postseason play in 2015. Her burning curiosity fueled her lifelong passion for learning; in the end she told her family that she still had a thousand million questions. She loved her family and friends deeply and lived appreciating life's gifts and finding joy in every day. She was a remarkable person and will be profoundly missed.

She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings Marjorie and Ralph, sister-in-law Connie Landis, and her husband Peter. Survivors include her daughters Ruth and Mary (Gilbert Nathanson) Saecker, her grandchildren Rosemary Spolar, Emma and Pearl Nathanson, siblings John (Molly) Landis of Appleton, Ruth (John) Braun of Sheboygan and Robert Landis of Gardiner, MT, her five nieces and nephews, extended family and many friends. Private family services will be held in Appleton. The family wishes to thank Dr. Walter Longo, Beth Kingston and the staff at the UW Carbone Cancer Center who made the last several years of her life possible, and the Agrace Hospice team who expertly managed her end of life care. Memorial gifts may be made to the Madison Public Library, Olbrich Garden, the Trillium Fund for Myeloma Research at UW-Madison or the charity of one's choice.

Madison Public Library: https://mplfoundation.org/donate

Olbrich Garden: https://www.cityofmadison.com/ePayment/olbrich/donations.cfm

Trillium Fund for Myeloma Research at UW-Madison: https://secure3.convio.net/uwhc/site/Donation2?df_id=4500&4500.donation=form1

Cress Funeral Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434