Marjorie Isabelle Burke
Marjorie Isabelle Burke was born on Aug. 22, 1926 in Caliente, the ninth child of John Stanley (Happy) Burke and Isabelle Morris. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Truman, Elden, Bill, Stormy, Bob and Roger Jean; sisters Hilma Wilkenson, Lula Jorgensen, Pat Roderick, and Peg Westall; her first husband Curly; her second husband Dee; and her daughter Chris. She is survived by her sister Connie and brother Kelly, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She married William Ardis (Curly) Durrett on July 31, 1950. Their daughter, Vicki Christine, was born on Oct. 13, 1951. On Dec. 16, 1954, Curly was killed in a mining accident.
Marge worked as the city clerk, and later in the office of Dolan & Edwards Insurance. She had many good friends and was active in the events of the town.
Marge moved to Sparks and then to the test site near Las Vegas, where she met and married Roscoe Owen Detraz (Dee) on Dec. 10, 1970. He was her soul mate and brought great joy into her life, and was a great father to Chris. They loved to cook, and were famous for their homemade carrot cake, cookies and spare ribs and sauerkraut. Marge and Dee bought a home in Las Vegas where they lived and laughed for many years.
On May 20, 1972, Marge?s daughter, Chris was killed in a car accident in Logan, Utah. This was a devastating time again for Marge, but she had Dee had the Gospel to help her through this difficult time.
Dee and Marge were later sealed in the St. George Temple and Chris was sealed to them.
Marge and Dee sold their home in Las Vegas and bought a home in Bloomington, Utah. Dee was diagnosed with Parkinson?s disease. After some difficult times, they moved to Alamo to be closer to family.
We loved the years they shared there. Eventually Dee was moved to the care center in Caliente and Marge moved home to Caliente to be near him. He passed away on March 29, 2003.
Marge was active in her church. She loved to sing in the choir. She was very involved in community and political affairs until she was unable to live alone any longer. She moved to an assisted living facility in St. George for about a year before she passed away Friday, Sept. 6. On that day, a long-awaited family reunion was held for the Roscoe Owen Detraz Family. Joyous participants, among others, were Uncle Dee, Aunt Marge and their beloved Chris.
Funeral services were Wednesday, Sept. 11 in Caliente.