Margaret Adele Timm Derting, 59, died on September 25, 2017. She was born on April 2, 1958 to Fred and Sally Mary (Green) Timm in Omak, Washington.
She was raised with her seven siblings in Okanogan where she graduated from high school in 1976. On the first day of kindergarten she met Bradley Derting whom she married on March 19, 1977. Jim and JoAnn Derting welcomed Margaret into their lives and quickly became her second family. They provided constant love and support through the years and Margaret always considered it a blessing to be a part of their lives.
Brad and Margaret went to Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee for two years and then moved home to the Timm family ranch where they have lived for nearly 40 years. Their daughter Bess was born in 1979, followed in 1980 by daughter Maggie and son Will in 1982.
Margaret devoted her life to raising her children and she was a constant loving presence in all their lives. She worked long hours on the ranch, usually on a horse moving cows, always with her good friend Darrell. Margaret’s favorite thing to do was have her horse saddled at daylight and follow a dusty trail of cows until dark. She was always the first one ready with a thermos of hot coffee, a fried egg sandwich and a smile. Being the sixth of eight children she never wanted to be left behind and she worked hard to make sure her horse always had a spot in the trailer!
Margaret was thankful for being born into a large, tight knit family and she considered herself lucky that she was able to spend her life working with her siblings (well most of the time!). Margaret was a wonderful aunt and she loved her many nieces and nephews like her own. There was always a pack of kids running in and out of the house, extra mouths to feed and the noise level was always very high – and every bit of it Margaret loved. The past ten years her role as Granny became one she cherished and her main regret was not being able to watch her grandchildren grow into adults. When not working on the ranch Margaret enjoyed watching her kids, nieces and nephews play sports, including the Cougar football years. She loved to cook, to dance, to sing, and to laugh. We know mom is somewhere riding Spencer and Toby, following a cow, and looking down on us reminding us “we better smile and make the most of it.”
Margaret is survived by her husband, Brad; daughter, Bess (Ryan); daughter, Maggie (Reid); son, Will (Nicole); grandchildren Lexi, Aleena, Johnny, Alzora, Patsy, Gus, Ike and Hank; father and mother-in-law, Jim and JoAnn Derting; brothers, Rick (Jann) Timm, Pete (Billie) Timm, Chris Timm; sisters, Sally (Gary) Azzano, Janet Nelson, Mary (Wayne) Blair; sister-in-law, Nita Timm; brother and sister-in-law Brian and Ann Derting; sister and brother-in-law Janell and Nathan Townsend and many very loved nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Bob Timm and her brother-in-law Ike Nelson
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
A memorial service will be held for Margaret at the Berg Brothers Pavilion at the Okanogan Fairgrounds on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 2 p.m.
Okanogan County Crematory was entrusted with arrangements.