2020/11/obit-longMom-BW.jpgMarjorie Louise Long, “Margie,” 93, loved and lived in Pagosa Springs, Colo. She passed from this life on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and went on to be with her Heavenly Father. Margie was known throughout the Pagosa area as the local “hugger” and always blessed others with her big smile and genuine interest and concern for them.
Margie was born on Oct. 31, 1926, to Warren Clyde and Adelaide Louise Dunmyer in Johnstown, Pa. She attended Penn State University, graduating with a degree in physical education and health in the fall of 1944. She married James Keats Long on Dec. 27, 1947, and moved into a room at the Red Patch Cottage on the edge of the Gettysburg battlefield.
In January of 1950, they moved to Houston, Texas, where Margie’s parents had moved several years earlier. They started a new life and jobs in Houston and began a family, daughter Cheryl, Robin, Mark and Donn. Jim passed away in 1964 of leukemia and Margie raised all four children on her own with help from God. She has six grandchildren and was awaiting the arrival of her first great-grandchild in December.
In 1976, after the kids had graduated and were on their own, she moved to Pagosa Springs, first living on Lake Pagosa, then later at the foothills of Pagosa Peak. She embraced her life in Pagosa Springs, serving with the Colorado Mounted Rangers and on the board of the Harman Museum. Margie enjoyed horseback riding, hiking and being surrounded by the beauty of Colorado.
As a former physical education teacher, Margie was focused on health and wellness, physically and spiritually. She was a deep woman of faith and spent much time in fellowship with God, appreciating the beauty of His creation as she looked out her back porch.
Margie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jim Long; her sister, Patricia; and her longtime friend, RD Hott. She is survived by daughters Cheryl and Robin, sons Mark and Donn, and six grandchildren.
The family wishes to thank the emergency department and staff and Pagosa Springs Medical Center and Dr. Amber Reiss-Holt and the staff at Pagosa Springs Medical Group for their caring and compassionate attention.
Memories of Margie will be cherished and kept alive in the hearts and minds of the many that she touched over the years. The family will hold a private service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sonlight Christian Camp, Pagosa Springs, or Faith Comes by Hearing, Albuquerque, N.M., two ministries she was deeply passionate about.
