Marge Bartsch
Marjorie Eleanor "Marge" Bartsch (née Cooke), born 23 April 1939, is a Canadian-born American member of the Cooke family. She is a daughter of Ernie Cooke and Gladys Cooke, and sister of Lloyd Cooke and Cookie Cooke.
Early life in Winnipeg
Marge was born in 1939 and grew up in Fort Garry, Winnipeg, where her father Ernie Cooke served as Superintendent of the Canadian National Railway car shops in Fort Rouge. When she was nine years old, her family moved one street over from Aunt Lucy and her husband Uncle Jack. At that time, the Curries' son Bill Currie was in first grade, Doug Currie was slightly older, and Ron Currie was a baby.
The families lived near each other for five years, seeing each other almost daily. During this period, Marge played with Ron and babysat him. When Lucy had surgery, Ron stayed with Marge's family for several days. All the Cooke cousins were close during this era, with frequent family gatherings, sing-songs, and dinners. As Marge later recalled: "When we all lived in Winnipeg all the cousins were quite close with lots of family gatherings, sing songs, and dinners, then everyone began moving from Wpg and we did tend to lose track. No emails, just letters. Cost of long distant calling was very expensive. It was just a different time."
In 1952, Marge's parents Ernie and Gladys moved themselves and their three children to Toronto.
San Francisco (circa 1970–1977)
Marge lived in San Francisco, where she worked at Stanford Children's Hospital. In 1970, Ron Currie visited and stayed with her. Lucy and Jack Currie also stayed with her in San Francisco for a few days during this period.
In approximately 1976, she married Lynn Bartsch in San Francisco. Lucy Currie attended the wedding. The wedding cake was Grandma Cooke's fruit cake, covered in almond paste and white icing. When the almond paste hardened and the kitchen staff could not cut it properly, Lucy went into the kitchen, took charge, and ensured the cake was cut and served correctly.
Los Angeles (1977–1992)
Approximately one year after their marriage, the couple moved to Los Angeles, where they lived for fifteen years. In 1978, Ron Currie visited and stayed with them; he enjoyed spending time with Marge's friends.
Their two sons were born in Los Angeles:
- John Bartsch (born December 1978)
- Carson Bartsch (born December 1981)
Denver (1992–present)
In 1992, the family relocated to Denver, Colorado, where Marge continues to reside. Both sons also live in Denver as of 2020. John works in wealth management at Key Private Bank (KeyBank), is married, and has three children: twins Ayden and Addison (born circa 2015) and Emily (born circa 2017).[1][2] Carson owns his own painting company, is married, and has no children. John and Carson are second cousins to Michael Currie.
Later contact with the Currie family
Marge attended the wedding of Ted Cooke and Denise in Newfoundland, where she had a memorable visit with Jack and Lucy Currie.
She attended Ron Currie's 65th birthday party with Joanne Foot, where she met Michael Currie and discussed his competitive ballroom dancing, later watching some of his competitions online.
Travel
Marge visited Thailand in 2005 for approximately three weeks.
Sources
[1] Bill Currie. [2] Personal correspondence with Cookie Currie and Michael Currie, 30 March 2019. [3] Personal correspondence (email) with Marge Bartsch and Michael Currie, November 2020.