Margaret Dresel

Margaret Eleanor Dresel, 94, a longtime resident of Great Falls passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 28, 2014. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 11:00 am at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Cremation has taken place under the direction of O’Connor Funeral Home. Margaret was born to Joseph and Margaret Nicholson on October 4, 1919 in Great Falls. She spent most of her early years in Great Falls until moving with her family to Hamilton where her father had purchased a berry farm. She was a graduate of Hamilton High School. It was in Hamilton where she met the kid down the lane, a close friend of her brother Ed. This kid was to become her husband. She married George Dresel in Hamilton on April 10, 1938. They remained married for 53 years until his passing in 1991. Together they raised five children. They spent the early years of their marriage in the Bitterroot, with some time in Spokane, WA. The call of Great Falls soon was beckoning and it was here they made their home until their passing. Margaret was a career waitress, working many years at the Rendevouz Room, Tracy’s, the Ho-Tai, and the 3D Club. She retired in order to take care of her husband as his health declined. Margaret and George were avid fishermen, passing on their skills to their many grandkids with whom they spent countless hours at Holter and Canyon Ferry lakes. She deeply loved her family and was almost always counted on to hand out advice. Margaret is survived by her son, Jack (Joyce) Dresel of Puyallup, WA; daughter Georgia DeBolt Johnson of Great Falls; son Rick (Kathy) Dresel of Renton, WA; son-in-law Richard “Dick” Morris of Great Falls; 16 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; 10 great-great-grandchildren; and 15 nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughters JoAnne Shirley and Barbara (Dick) Morris; son-in-laws Larry DeBolt, Roger Harris, and Gary Johnson; granddaughter Cathy (Harris) Geary; great-granddaughter Riley DeBolt; sisters Dorothy Grasseschi and Lucille Tabacco; brother Edward Nicholson, and nephew Bill Tabacco.