Margaret Roller, 95, Dickinson, died Sunday, October 29, 2017 with family at her side at St. Benedict’s Health Center, Dickinson. Margaret’s Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m., Friday, November 3, 2017 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Dickinson with Fr. Keith Streifel as celebrant. Interment will follow at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. with a rosary and vigil at 4 p.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service.
Margaret Rech was born on December 28, 1921 to Anton and Barbara (Kordick) Rech on a farm southeast of Dickinson near Lefor, in Stark County. She grew up on the farm and attended a country school near Lefor. In 1925, at the age of 4, she moved with her family to Chicago, Ill. where they lived for two years before returning to Lefor. Margaret would remember her mother telling her about the time she wandered away from their home in Chicago and how a policeman brought her safely back home.
On February 11, 1941, Margaret and Jacob Roller were married in St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church at Lefor. The couple then farmed near Hope for a few years before eventually moving to Dickinson. They were blessed with eight children.
Margaret loved to cook and bake for and spend time with her family and friends and drop-ins were also welcome at her dining table. She always had a huge garden and enjoyed sharing the bounty and in later years, was very proud of her garden of wildflowers. Sewing clothing for herself and her girls was one of her handiworks and then, eventually she sewed quilts for her grandchildren.
Margaret truly enjoyed old-time music and accompanied her husband’s band, the Jake Roller Orchestra, as they played for many events. She was a member of St. Joseph’s Church Christian Mothers, St. Ann’s Auxiliary, St. Anthony Club and Dickinson Singles Club. In her later years, she would walk down to St. Anthony, attend their club suppers and spend the evening listening to old-time music and dancing.
After her husband passed away, Margaret was employed part-time at St. Joseph’s Church and school. Her family, home and church were most important to her throughout her life. She resided at her home until April 2015 when she became a resident of St. Benedict’s Health Center. Her family has special thanks and blessings to the great staff and kind care-givers at St. Benedict’s Home for their compassionate care.
Margaret is survived by six of her eight children, Adeline (Steve) Gryskiewicz, Mesa, Ariz., Karen (Dale) Mittelstadt, Aurora, Colo., Joyce (Rick) Beaudoin, Dickinson, Francis (Patty) Roller, Fargo, Alvin Roller, Ault, Colo., and Loretta Conlon, Mandan; one sister, Anna Ellingson, Oak Hearst, Calif., 24 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jacob, April 1979; daughter, Janice Steffan, son, Gerald Roller; grandson, Mason Roller; six brothers, Jacob, Joseph, William, Peter, John, and Conrad; and one sister, Kathryn Klemm. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be given to the St. Joseph’s Church Pine Room Renovation Fund.
