Margaret ‘Maggie’ Tveraa

Maggie passed away Saturday afternoon, May 11, surrounded by people she loved. Maggie was born June 2, 1952 in Everett Washington to Clarence and Doreen Gordon, though she grew up in Marysville. She grew up with two older brothers and her twin sister. 

Some of her favorite memories were riding the train to Canada to visit her grandparents, going down to the water to help her dad open the draw bridge near where they lived and driving to Niagara Falls with her family as a teenager. 

She attended Marysville High School and graduated in 1970. During the 70’s, Maggie went on to obtain a degree in Early Childhood Education from Everett Community College. She loved kids and would still later in life talk about the kids she worked with so many years ago. 

Later she went on to pursue her true passion and obtained her Culinary Arts Degree. If you knew Maggie then you know how much she loved to cook and you most likely had tried her food. She loved to randomly make a dish for someone she knew to brighten their day. 

In 1978, she met Pat Tveraa in Everett and that was it for the two of them. They were together until Pat’s death in 1999. They both loved each other a tremendous amount. They spent many years laughing, going to the Golden Garden Locks, boating on the river with friends and watching the car races at the local tracks. Pat worked construction and it was pretty often that Maggie was out there with him helping to get done what needed to be. 

In 1980, they welcomed their first child, Patrick, and then their daughter, Liz, in 1987. 

In 1992, after years of trying to be convinced, Maggie finally gave in to Pat’s wishes and they moved the family from Everett to Montana. It was quite the adjustment for Maggie, but she quickly fell in love with Montana and the Bitterroot Valley became home.

She loved the beauty of the mountains, fishing on the river, watching wildlife, and the friendliness of the people here. 

There was nothing Maggie was more proud of than her kids, except for maybe her five grandkids. She loved each of them with every ounce she had and tried to be there for each of them as they needed her. 

She became the best of friends with George Garcia and together the two of them had so many wonderful adventures over the past 20 years, going fishing, taking road trips, having coffee together at Frontier Cafe and so many other little things they did together. George was there for Maggie when she had to make the transition from living independently to living in the nursing home. He visited her daily to make sure she kept her sense of humor and that smile. 

Maggie had a way of making friends wherever she would go. She would talk to anyone, usually cracking a joke. She spent most of her mornings having coffee with her “coffee crew” as she called them. It was something she looked forward to and kept her going. Maggie struggled a lot the past five years with medical issues, but was always positive and hopeful. She was a strong woman, who loved much, always smiled, and was kind to everyone. This world just won’t be the same without her. She will be missed by those who loved her. 

She is preceded in death by both her parents and her husband Pat. She is survived by her son Patrick of Missoula and his two daughters Natalie and Allyx; her daughter Liz (James) of Corvallis and her three kids, Branden, Kelly and Megan; along with her best friend George Garcia of Stevensville; her brother Ross (Mary) Gordon of CA, her brother Stuart Gordon of WA, twin sister Theresa Stribling (Sandy) of WA; numerous nieces and nephews; and countless friends, each of whom she loved dearly. 

Maggie asked for a party instead of a funeral, so that is what she will get. A party in honor of Maggie will be held Sunday, May 19th at 1 p.m. at Lewis & Clark Park in Stevensville. It is a potluck and everyone is asked to bring their favorite dish in honor of Maggie. 

The family asks instead of flowers to carry out a random act of kindness, buy someone’s coffee in Maggie’s memory. She would have loved that.