Margaret MacArthur

Margaret MacArthur, age 68 of Cherokee Village, Arkansas, formerly of St. Francis, died after a two year nine month battle with ALS on Thursday, November 28, 2013 at her home in Cherokee Village, Arkansas.

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 7 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Grey Eagle with Rev. Ronald Dockendorf officiating. Inurnment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose and from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. Parish prayers will be held at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home.

Margaret Alberts was born March 14, 1945 in Morris, Minnesota to Fred and Alice (Beckman) Alberts. The family moved near Cosmos where Margaret attended school and graduated with the class of 1963. In 1965 she married Earl Carlson and had a son, Phil and a daughter, Kris. They later divorced. On March 3, 1978 she married Douglas MacArthur. Together they had a daughter, Mary and son, Mark. Margaret was employed at Univac in St. Paul for 10 years, then when she married Douglas, she became an active partner in the rotational grazing dairy farm they purchased near St. Francis. She loved caring for the Jersey cows. They retired from dairy farming in 2007 and remained on the farm until selling it to their son in 2012. Then they moved to Arkansas.

She was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Grey Eagle and also belonged to the St. Cloud ALS support group in 2011. Margaret and Doug took many trips to Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas with Margaret insisting on doing all the driving. She enjoyed driving so much she drove twice to Florida alone to visit Phil and his family in Florida. Margaret loved making her German tradition New Year's cakes (a pancake with sausage and molasses). She also enjoyed playing BINGO and after retirement, taking trips to the casino.

Survivors include her husband, Douglas MacArthur of Cherokee Village, Arkansas; children, Phil (Mary) Carlson of Three Rivers, Michigan, Kris (Frank) Salava of Wyoming, Mary (Rick) Skillings of Alexandria and Mark (Sara) MacArthur of Freeport; nine grandchildren; brothers, Louie (Karen) Alberts of Bird Island, Paul (Sue) Alberts of Lester Prairie, Harold Alberts of Socorro, New Mexico, Fred (Gin) Alberts of Hutchinson, Gordon (Linda) Alberts of Clear Lake, South Dakota and Marv Alberts of Stanley, North Dakota; and sister, Alice (Roger) Wirtz of Maple Grove.

Margaret was preceded in death by her parents, Fred, Sr. and Alice Alberts; brother, Henry Alberts in 1988; and sister-in-law, Romela Alberts in 2013.