Margaret Joan Armstrong Craig

April 6, 1953 - June 7, 2024

Margaret Joan "Marnie" Armstrong Craig passed away June 7, 2024, after a year-long battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).  Despite the many challenges she faced with this disease, true to her nature, she never complained and remained light-hearted, funny, compassionate, and strong.

Born April 6, 1953, to Ben F.  Armstrong and Betty Jo Hansen Armstrong, she enjoyed growing up in Federal Heights where she and sister MaryAnne (Beth) and brother John made the University of Utah campus their playground.  She attended Wasatch Elementary, Bryant Junior High, and graduated from East High School in 1971.  Margaret graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a degree in Education.  She spent a period of her time at the U studying and working as a nanny in France.  After graduating, she moved to Hailey, Idaho where she enjoyed teaching junior high and high school and developed a lifelong love for the Ketchum/Sun Valley area.

She returned to Salt Lake City and began her 40+ year career at Valley High School and completed her Master's Degree in Special Education at the University of Utah.  Margaret was very proud of her time at Valley High School and the curriculum she built, where she integrated her passion for music and used it as a tool for teaching History and English.  Her kind and caring nature endeared her to her students, and the personal investment she made in each and every one of them made a lasting impact on their lives.

She met the love of her life and husband, Daniel Boone Craig, in 1979 and together they settled into Pinecrest Canyon where they built a beautiful life and home together.  They became an integral part of the canyon, where Margaret will be remembered for her friendship, dedication, and the positive impact she had on the community.

Margaret exuded fun, kindness, and intellect, which drew numerous meaningful friendships from each part of her life, many of whom became family, including her Pinecrest Canyon community, the Goddesses, and her beloved Red Mud Club.

In the words of close friend Heidi Redd, "Nothing was ordinary about Margaret, not even the horrible illness that took her from us.  She was like the Wizard of Oz leading us down a path of fun, putting us on center stage, cheering us on, and hiding behind the curtain making us feel we were the show.  Yes, her life was cut short and we are all brokenhearted, but I am so thankful she fell into my life like a star from heaven, so much more than just a bucket full of fun, she is the true meaning of a friend."

She will be remembered by her unwavering dedication to a project, none too big nor too small.  She earned the nickname, "Boone's Swiss Army Wife".  She mastered the art of sprinkler repair, flooring, tiling, electrical, plumbing, and anything else her friends and/or family could dream up that they needed help with.

Margaret had many interests, creative pursuits, and hobbies, and she mastered them all.  She was an avid skier, hiker, biker, river rafter, fly fisherwoman, traveler, gardener, and adventurer.  Through all of her many passions, and besides her love for her husband and the joy she felt working side by side or hiking with him, nothing made her happier than her role as Aunt to her nephews and nieces who renamed her "Marnie", Great Aunt to all of her grandnieces and grandnephew, as well as surrogate Grandmother to Henry, Abby, Evie, Gigi, and Coco.

Margaret is survived by husband Daniel Boone Craig; sister MaryAnne "Beth" Armstrong Jensen; sister-in-law Kathy Voltz Armstrong; nephews Jonas Armstrong (Emily), Joseph Armstrong, and Josh Jensen; nieces Kate Jensen Belcher (A.J.), Anna Jensen Wicks (Brandon), Molly McLaughlin, and Brianne Armstrong; grandnephew Henry Wicks; grandnieces, Abby Belcher, Addie Armstrong, Evie Belcher, Olivia Armstrong, Grace Wicks, Maren Armstrong, Chloe Jensen, and Hannah Armstrong; as well as lifelong friends Ron Smith and Kim Collins.  Margaret is preceded in death by her parents Ben F.  Armstrong and Betty Jo Hansen Armstrong, brother John D.  Armstrong, and brother-in-law Jefferey J.  Jensen.

Many thanks to Gary Verchick EHS'71 for providing this obituary link and the recent photo.