Margaret, "Marge", Kovarik was born on June 5, 1932, in Aberdeen, South Dakota to parents Albert and Cecile Donahue. She was the second of six children in the family. She grew up during the Great Depression and World War II.

She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in Aberdeen through the ninth grade, graduated from Central High School in 1950, and graduated after three years from the Presentation School of Nursing in Aberdeen.  The tuition cost for her three-year nursing degree was $325.

In her junior year of training, she left for the big city (Omaha, Nebraska) for her psychiatric rotation at Saint Joseph's Hospital.  There she met her future husband, Richard Kovarik, a senior in medical school at Creighton University. They attended the same church, and he worked up the courage to ask her for a date following a conversation in the church parking lot lamenting his recently dented car.  As she said, "the rest was history".

The romance was put on hold as Richard was deployed to the Korean War.  Lucky for Marge his orders changed to Tokyo, Japan, where spouses were allowed. She immediately set off for Japan and they were married May 1954.  Their first child, Stephen, was born after a year in Japan.

On the return to the U.S., Richard finished his medical training in Boston and Houston. They moved to Rapid City to establish his medical practice at the Rapid City Medical Center and to raise five children. Marge was an exemplary mother and homemaker. In later years, she used her nurses training to cover the vacation time of Richard's office nurse, Gail, at the Women's Clinic.

Marge was a longtime member of Cathedral Parish and volunteered in many organizations. She was active on the parish council, the board of the Western South Dakota Catholic Foundation, the Altar Society, and the Rapid City Catholic School Board.  She was also involved in community activities, including the Dahl Fine Arts Board in the 1980s.

One of her most persistent and personal memories was of the 1972 Rapid City flood. Following the flood, she volunteered to help families identify the bodies of victims at the funeral home.  Her memories of this event remained sharp to the end of her life, despite the fading of other memories.

In addition to family and volunteering, she took pride in her flower and vegetable gardens, helped care for a variety of dogs and horses, and was an excellent cook. Her house was a mecca for visiting relatives, kids, and grandchildren, with great memories for all. She was the consummate hostess.

Marge is survived by daughters Kathleen Kovarik, Rapid City, and Camille Kovarik, Spokane, Washington; sons, Thomas (Pam), Rapid City and Stephen (Virginia Frei) Kovarik, Rapid City; 6 grandchildren, Christa (Michael), Madalyn (Soumya), Cara, Nicholas (Maddy), Dennis, and Nathan; and 5 great-grandchildren, Caeli, Maia, Casey, Maclin, and Divya. She is also survived by her sisters, Camille Outlaw, Patricia Heckathorn, and Mary Alice Dyess, and brother John Donahue.

Marge was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Barney Donahue, her son Father Peter Kovarik, and her husband Dr. Richard Kovarik.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Morningstar Assisted Living Center for their care in her final years. You are much appreciated.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to Catholic Social Services or The Club For Boys.