Margaret Mary Stuckel was born December 18, 1924 in Smithers. The first child to Lakes District pioneers Billy and Mary Bickle.
She was raised on the Bickle ranch at Grassy Plains, and other than a year working for the post office in Vancouver lived in Burns Lake until she took on the job of post mistress at the Alcan Kemano Camp at Tahtsa Lake.
There she met Charlie Stuckel who was the meat cutter for the big camp kitchen. They married in 1953. They set up home in Vernon and lived from then on in the Okanagan (with a short interlude at Grassy Plains for two years when her parents became Elderly).
They returned every year to Grassy Plains to visit their many friends in the area and Charlie could get in some quality hunting and fishing.
Small in stature, but as a young woman she was quite athletic and enjoyed horseback riding, cross country skiing and ski jumping (she was Omineca Ski Queen in 1947).
In Penticton she was a member of the Eastern Star and various other community groups.
Margaret also enjoyed gardening and took great pride in the fruit she could grow.
After Charlie passed away in 1998 she found the big yard and garden in Summerland a bit much and eventually sold and moved back to Penticton into a condo in her “Cherry Lane tower”.
She loved to travel and after taking a round-the-world trip in 1963 she made several trips to Britain, New Zealand and Mexico.
For the last 3 years Margaret lived at the Hamlets in Penticton and although she had failing health she always remained cheerful.
She passed away August 18 at Penticton Hospital.
Margaret was predeceased by her husband Charlie, her brother Jack and sister in-law Thelma.
She is survived by her brother Ian in New Zealand, nephew Bruce and niece Lynda in Canada, nieces Sharon and Allison in New Zealand and niece Brenda in Australia.
Cremation, no service and by her request any memorial donations be made to the BC SPCA.