Margaret Alice Frank Lien, age 73, passed peacefully on January 16, 2020 at her home in Amery, Wisconsin. Her friends and family called her by her nickname, Margee.

Margee was the daughter of Agnes and Orville Frank, and grew up in the friendly small town of Deer Park, Wisconsin. Along with her sister Lona Jean, and all the neighborhood kids, she walked to Deer Park Elementary School. On the way home after school they would stop at Frank’s Fairway Store for an ice cream cone – first asking their dad, Orville, for a nickel to buy the treat. Her childhood years were full of freedom to play outside, swimming, hiking, and bicycling. From a young age, she had a love of the outdoors, enjoying the family Four Star cabin, Lake Magnor, and the hunting cabin in the Northwoods at Delta.

At Amery High School, Margee met Dan Lien, the love of her life, with whom she celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the summer of June 2018. Their relationship was a perfect example of what love and devotion should be in life.

Margee attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Education. After Dan & Margee were married, they lived in Osceola, Wisconsin, where Margee began her career as a teacher. As a young couple, Margee and Dan worked and saved their money to fulfill their mutual dream of traveling in Europe. In 1973, they were able to take a sabbatical from their jobs and travel to England, Spain, and France. In Montpelier, France they attended a French language school and they visited the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland, where Margee’s grandparents immigrated from in the late eighteen hundreds. Margee started teaching Special Education in White Bear Lake and Osceola, and eventually moved to Amery where she enjoyed teaching both Special Education and English until she retired.

Margee and Dan bought a house on Arch Street in a fantastic and friendly neighborhood to build their life. Their first son, Andrew, was born in 1976. Margee and Dan, always the adventurous couple, then spent a year in Portsmouth, England while Dan participated in a teacher exchange program. They welcomed their second son, Peter, in 1979 while there and soon after returned to Amery.

In 1985, Margee and Dan bought their dream house on Pike Lake. She loved spending time on the lake and spent countless hours gardening and landscaping their home. The family would take a vacation every summer break and were lucky to experience the mountains in Colorado; Marathon, Florida, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

In their retirement years, Dan & Margee enjoyed reading, traveling and camping in their VW bus, and just being together with family and friends. Margee enjoyed traveling to Florida and Texas, especially South Padre Island with her sister Lona and her husband Bruce, and Isla Mujeres and Puerta Vallarta with their beloved friends. Much fun was had by all when Margee was around and she made sure everyone was taken care of and comfortable. She was a caretaker. After her sons began building their families she was always a source of support, comfort and guidance. She was the type of grandmother who would drive into Minneapolis to help with a sick grand child at a moment’s notice and love every minute of it.

She will be deeply missed by her family, friends and many in the community.

Margee is survived by her sister, Lona Jean Delong; son, Andrew (Angela) Lien, son, Peter (Amanda) Lien; Grandsons, Tierney Lien, Salvatore Lien and Kabriel Foster and granddaughters, Isabella Lien, Clementine Lien and Nora Lien.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Orville and Agnes Frank; husband, Dan Lien; and brother-in-law, Bruce DeLong.

Funeral Services will be held at 2 PM on Friday, January 24, 2020 at the Williamson-White Funeral Home. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. A private family interment will be held at a later date.

Last Update: Jan 21, 2020 2:36 pm CST