Marion "Prang" Settje

Marion is survived by 3 daughters, Rose (Amos) Coghill of Montrose, CO.; Darlene(Grandin) Hammell of Westminster, CO.; and Glenda Fountain of Denver, CO. 7 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Rebekah (Jeff) Coghill Woller, Melanie 5 and Valerie 1, of Springfield, CO; Deborah (Shannon) Coghill Siedschlag, Shantel 13, Jeshua 11, Jaroden 9, and Jairus (JP) 4, of Montrose, CO; Grandin Jeffrey (Monique) Hammell, Grandin (Charlie) 9, of Carlsbad, CA.; Heidi (Ian) Hammell Monsees, Jaydin 4 and Liam 2, of Ft Worth, TX.; Michael Fountain Jr (Julie) of Sarasota, FL., Jourdyn Ward 18, of Pasco, WA.; Jill (Donald) Fountain-Sisk, Jacob 14, Alyssa 11, and Madalyne Marian 3, of Meridian, ID.; Keven Fountain (Katrina), Isaac 8 and Lillyan 7, of Westminster, CO.; a brother Kenneth (Evelyn) Prang of Madison, NE.; a sister Eunice Klempel of Bismarck, ND, numerous nieces, nephews, their children and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Hilmer G Settje, an infant daughter Marsha Kay, her parents Philip and Anna Prang and a brother Milton Prang. It is impossible not to include references to our Dad in this as the two, just as the Bible says, had become one… Words cannot describe how much she has missed him since his death. Marion was born in Stanton County, Nebraska and was raised a farm girl both in Nebraska and in South Dakota. She graduated from Creston High School in Creston, Nebraska. She married Hilmer G. Settje November 11, 1945, at Creston Baptist Church soon after he came home from serving in World War II. They were married for 57 years when he passed in December 2002. Dad always said they met when she was born as he remembered seeing her in her bassinet when his family went to visit. We loved that story, although Mom always wondered as he was barely 1 yr old at the time. They began dating in High School and Mom fondly remembered a date to go see Gone With The Wind. In about 1943 Mom moved to Denver shortly after Dad left for the war. She worked at the phone company and also as a nanny for a family in Cherry Creek. She really liked Denver and especially the mountains but moved back to Nebraska prior to Dad’s return in fall 1945. He sent her an engagement ring from Europe and it fit perfectly. He said he had measured her finger next to his pinky and knew it would fit to his first knuckle. They stayed in Nebraska, lived in Creston and began their family. In 1953 they moved to Aurora, CO., had 2 more daughters and started Settje Construction Company. Mom was the bookkeeper and “gopher” while Dad supervised subcontractors, and did all of the carpentry work himself. They built the home we lived in as children. I wish I had realized then what an honor it was to grow up in a home built by their loving hands. Dad would come home, stop her cooking, take her in his arms and dance the polka on the large kitchen floor. We all attended Hoffman Heights Baptist Church in Aurora. When their youngest started school in 1960 she went to work outside the home as a bookkeeper. During her career she worked for a few companies including; Buckley Air National Guard Base, Schneider Cookie Company (Archway Cookies, yum we liked that job), Denver Burglar Alarm and Strong Bros Excavating. While working at Strong Bros she played on the company softball team. They moved to Westminster in 1976 and attended Northwest Baptist Church. They always looked forward to Sunday Church Service and to the many activities with their friends in the Keenagers Group. She took care of the food pantry for many years. It was a responsibility she took seriously. Occasionally she kept the toddler nursery. She always loved the little ones. They retired at 62 but both still worked temporary jobs for a while. In their free time they loved camping and taking long driving vacations in the US and Canada. She was always content to be at home. They gardened, cooked and did many craft projects together. Mom enjoyed baking such things as bread, hot cross buns, and kolaches. It seemed that she was always coming up with some new recipe to share with her daughters. It was always a treat to go over to their house for dinner knowing everything would be made from scratch. There might be fresh pumpkin, apple or peach custard pie, or at the very least homemade Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies in the cookie jar. Mom was always the one to apply decorative painted designs on Dad’s wood projects such as napkin holders, or a perpetual calendar. Mom loved to sew and taught us all. Projects went from doll clothes to Rose’s wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses, or from curtains and throw pillows to reupholstering furniture. She made beautiful quilts for most of her great grandchildren. It was something she learned while still a child. She made many beautiful embroidered things. Mom read many stories to her children as they were growing up and was an avid reader herself. We made many trips to the library and always came home with something interesting to read. She always loved the mountains and every year on her birthday we made sure we went for a nice relaxing drive to view the aspens changing color. She taught us to appreciate the simple things in life and to love our family and God above all else. She was a wonderful woman and person. She spent countless hours answering my (Glenda’s) distressed phone calls as a young wife and mother, and reading and playing with my children and grandchildren. They were known as Grandma and Grandpa Campy Skampy by Jacob and Alyssa when they were younger, because they and the kids loved camping in their camper so much. They were both always available to help whether I just needed a friend to pass the time with or had a big home project going. In her later years you rarely saw her without a book or newspaper in her hands. She was great at and enjoyed working the various word puzzles. She loved learning and continued to go to Bible Study until this past fall. Her guidance, kindness and patience never ended and her smile and warm but silly sense of humor will be sorely missed.