Margo Lila Van Leur

Margo L. (Gessner) Van Leur, 80 of Devils Lake formerly of Penn ND passed away on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at CHI, St. Alexius Health, Devils Lake Hospital.

Funeral Services for Margo will be held on Thursday, December 16, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake with Reverend Steven Wirth officiating.  The Rosary will be recited at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, prior to the funeral service. Margo will be laid to peaceful rest at the Devils Lake Cemetery.

Margo Lila was born on January 14, 1941, the daughter of Harold and Charlotte (De Vier) Gessner.  She was reared in Penn ND, attended elementary school there and graduated from Churchs Ferry High School with the class of 1958.  She continued her education at Lake Region Junior College and also worked as a bookkeeper at Northern Seed and Feed.  

Walking to work each day would take Margo past Bill’s Service Station and she soon caught the eye of Richard Van Leur.  Love would bloom and they were married on April 5, 1961 in Devils Lake.  They would live, work, and raise their family in Devils Lake and call it home the rest of their lives. 

Margo was a devoted wife, doting mother to her 4 children and the best grandmother and great grandmother in the world.  Her family was her treasure, her blessings, her joys.

In her younger days she was a Girl Scout leader and operated a Day Care out of her home for many years. Margo was that special coat checker at the ELKS, known for always giving you a treat when you picked up your coats at the end of the evening.  For years, she worked at the VFW Club, cooking and cleaning and doing whatever needed to be done. Her greatest work accomplishment was thr role of “Domestic Engineer” and she loved every minute of it.

Margo’s talents were many. She was an excellent cook, exceptional baker, quilter, and accomplished other arts and crafts.  Any of Margo’s beautiful or tasty creations were always shared with family and friends.  She was the caretaker of the home, inside and out. She loved caring for the yard and keeping a warm and cozy home for her family and friends who gathered there.  She enjoyed crossword puzzles, the Grand Forks Herald Bingo, game shows and was a loyal Vikings and Twins fan, which wasn’t always easy.  She loved animals and had a devotion to the Rosary. 

Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts. Love to this precious wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and dearest friend.

Margo is survived by her husband of 60 years Red Van Leur; children Traci L. (Randy) Kraft, Devils Lake, Tammi L. (Dale) Wohlers, Virginia Beach, VI, Tommy L. Van Leur, Fargo ND and Trudi Jaeger (Kermit) also of Devils Lake; grandchildren Todd (Jackie) Kraft and Amanda (David) Reed, Matthew (Sarah) Wohlers, J.D. Jaeger; great grandchildren Jakson Jaeger, Robbie, Michelle and James Kraft, Layton Reed and Daniel and Olevir Wohlers; sisters Charlotte E. (Jim) Hatlestad, Tolna ND and Charlene (Al) Gault, Rugby ND; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Leo (Sharon) McGarvey, Brinsmade ND, Jerry Vanderlin, Gilby ND, Judy Gessner, Colorado and Pat Gessner, Kansas; many nieces, nephews and their families. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, son-in-law Dale Jaeger, brothers Bernard Gessner and John Henry Gessner, twin sister Mary Lou Vanderlin, in-laws Earl and Pearl McGarvey and fur baby “Sassy Lulu”. 

Casket Bearers will be her grandsons Todd Kraft, JD Jaeger, Matthew Wohlers and David Reed and nephews Kevin Vanderlin and Keith Vanderlin.

Reading the Scriptures: Dale Wohlers and Amanda Reed.