Margery M. Zulkoski, 88, formerly of Elyria passed away on Sunday, June 20, 2021, at the Community Memorial Health Center in Burwell.
Graveside Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 14, 2021; at the St. Mary’s Cemetery at Elyria, Nebraska. Father Scott Harter will officiate. Memorials are suggested to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church or St. Mary’s School. Ord Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Margery Mae was born February 11, 1933, at Burwell, Nebraska to Jesse C. and Laura L. (Conner) Freeman. She was raised in Burwell and received her education at Riverdale Country School.
On June 10, 1950, Margery was united in marriage to Ralph J. Zulkoski at Elyria, Nebraska. The couple resided in Tulsa, Oklahoma and their first two sons, Tim and Paul were born. In late 1953, the family relocated to the Churn Ranch in Cherry County near Merriman, Nebraska. Blaine, Angela, Sharon and Lynn were born while living there.
They moved to the JHL Ranch near Ashby, Nebraska in 1961. Margery cooked and cleaned the bunk house; raised a garden, and did the laundry for ranch hands and her family on both ranches as well as raising her six children.
In 1965, they moved back to the Burwell area and purchased a farm east of Burwell. They began a dairy and started selling milk to the neighbors and sold cream to the Butter Factory in Burwell. Later they sold to MidAmerican Dairy until their retirement in 2003.
In 2004, the couple moved to Elyria, Nebraska and settled on Ralph’s parent’s homestead. Their children and grandchildren built on an addition and remodeled the home, which included a quilting room for Margery. She enjoyed her home and beautiful yard until moving to Grandview Assisted Living Center in Ord and later to the Community Memorial Health Center in Burwell.
While living in Burwell, Margery was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Altar Society. She was active during the Burwell Rodeo making meals in the Catholic Church building. She belonged to Garfield County Extension Clubs and a bowling league with her friends. When she moved to Elyria, she attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord.
Margery was a hard worker and kept very busy. She was an excellent cook and baker as everyone ate like Kings and Queens at her table. She was a member of a quilting club and made many keepsake quilts for family. Her seamstress skills were top notch. Margery received numerous awards at the county fairs with her quilts, baking, vegetables and crafts.
Survivors include three sons and three daughters-in-law, Timothy and Rita of Caldwell, Kansas, Blaine and Mary Lou of Rhome, Texas, Ralph Lynn of Morris, Illinois and Christine Zulkoski Fitch (widow of “Zeke”) of Caldwell, Kansas; two daughters and a son-in-law, Angela and Jim Lola of Douglas, Wyoming and Sharon Shetterly of Burwell, Nebraska; fourteen grandchildren; twenty-four great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchildren; and one brother, Dale Freeman of Wahoo.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ralph who passed away on March 7, 2010; a son, Paul “Zeke”; a son-in-law, Clinton Shetterly; six sisters, Florence, Ilene, Betty, Lola, Norma and Lila; and four brothers, Robert “Bud”, Gerald “Ora”, Delbert and Marvin.
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