Marjorie Golden

Marjorie Golden, 79, of Grand Junction, Colorado passed away at home on Saturday, August 5, 2017.  An informal gathering of friends and family will be held on Monday, August 14th, 2017. Please contact her daughters for details.

Marjorie Louise Hafner was born at home, west of Letts, Iowa, on July 8, 1938, to Byron Hunter Hafner and Mollie Eugenia (Crow) Hafner.  She was the fifth of seven children.  She attended Letts Consolidated school from K-12, and Parsons College (Fairfield, Iowa) for two years, after which she elected to discontinue her formal education because “she didn’t have the patience to teach and she wasn’t interested in being a nurse” and she felt those were the only professions she could train for as a woman.  She appreciated that her parents supported her decision to move to Chicago.

In Chicago in the 1960's, she worked as a ticket agent at Northwest Airlines, in its office on Michigan Avenue.  She enjoyed eating lunch in the Art Institute gardens on warm days, and using her employee status to travel widely, including trips to Hawaii, Alaska, and even a weekend in London.  In 1966, with her friend, Lois Fisher, she moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where she worked at Boetcher Stock Brokerage.  She married Thomas James Golden in 1970.  Their daughters were born in 1971 and 1973.  She loved being a mother, and excelled at it, while also volunteering at her children’s elementary school, as a girl scout leader, and as a soccer coach. When her grandchildren were born, she delighted in being a grandmother.  She knew her grandkids well.

An insightful observer of human nature, she despised hypocrisy and formality, and possessed a biting wit.  She was a talented seamstress, who made many of her own clothes, Halloween costumes, and her daughter’s wedding and prom dresses.  She loved her roots and visiting family in Iowa, reading, baking, watching birds at her feeders, her flower garden, Wheel of Fortune, playing board games with her grandchildren, and spending time with family and friends.  She is survived by her husband, her daughters, Amy Marie Golden and her husband, Rob Goodson, of Oakland, CA, and Cara Aileen Golden of Grand Junction; three grandchildren, Josie Skye Golden Goodson, Henry Michael Golden Goodson, and August James Golden Goodson; four siblings, Gae Crisman, Marianna Masteller, James Hafner, and Gloria Newell.   She was predeceased by her parents, her brother, Byron Eugene Hafner, and her sister, Zora Joyce Crull.

Marjorie will be dearly missed by family and friends. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Grand Valley Audubon Society or to Home Care of the Grand Valley.