Margaret Marie Garrett

Margaret Marie (Huning) Garrett, 91, of Sabetha, Kansas, died on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at the Apostolic Christian Home in Sabetha.

Margaret was born on December 28, 1933, in Walnut, Kansas to Waldo and Frieda (Lamkey) Huning. Margaret graduated from Hepler High School and received her bachelor’s degree from Pittsburgh State University. After receiving her degree, she accepted a teaching position in the Shawnee Mission School District, where she met Gene Garrett, a local Shawnee grocer. 

Margaret and Gene were married on June 10, 1956, in Shawnee, Kansas. They had three children, Lorinda, Dennis, and Doug. In 1972, Gene and Margaret moved their family to Sabetha to open a new grocery store. Margaret continued her teaching career for a couple of years in Fairview, Kansas before deciding to leave teaching behind to become a homemaker and raise her busy family. 

Margaret, lovingly called Mimi by her grandchildren, cherished and loved her family more than anything else. As grandparents, Margaret and Gene, found their greatest joy when their home was filled with grandchildren, and they were always inventing new and creative ways to entertain them. Their grandchildren will always remember the New Year’s Eve slumber parties and the many memories made at Mimi and Papa’s house. Margaret had a talent for sewing. In her sewing room, she devoted countless hours to creating special items for her grandchildren, which was yet another way she expressed her love for them. 

Margaret was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gene; her son, Dennis Garrett; her son-in-law, Don Strahm; and her brother, Howard (Pete) Huning. 

Margaret is survived by her daughter, Lorinda Strahm of Sabetha; her son, Doug (Shannon) Garrett of Sabetha; her daughter-in-law, Cheryl Garrett of Sabetha; her ten grandchildren, Nikki Heiman, Tara (Jesse) Ploeger, Natalie (Dennis) Deters, Savannah (Erik) Heironimus, Jill (Jake) Doeden, Rachel (Adam) Smith, Olivia Garrett (Seth Kelley), Brendon (Sara) Garrett, Meagan Garrett (Treavor Schmelzle), and Reggie (Hunter) Haynie; her thirteen great-grandchildren; her beloved “son” foreign exchange student, Tom Nakayama; and her two brothers, Leon (Denise) Huning of Morrill, Kansas and Ray (Rosie) Huning of Panhandle, Texas.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at the Sabetha Methodist Church in Sabetha. A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Popkess Mortuary Chapel in Sabetha. Interment will be made in the Sabetha Cemetery following the funeral service. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Sabetha Methodist Church and the Sabetha Community Hospital sent in care of Popkess Mortuary, 823 Virginia Street, Sabetha, Kansas 66534.