Sherree Ogren will be celebrating her 90th birthday on March 29. It is time we look into all her activities she has been involved in during these past years.
Sherree (Bentson) Ogren was born March 29, 1933 to Raymond and Dorothy Benton in Sioux City. She graduated from East High School and in 1954 received her R.N. degree from Lutheran School of Nursing. She married Jerry Ogren February 15, 1958 and began her nursing work at Sioux Valley Hospital in Cherokee. While working in the obstetric department, she welcomed many new babies into the world until she retired in 1995. These years they resided on a farm south of Cleghorn where they raised their three children: Scot, Mark, and Sue. In 1969 they moved to a farm northwest of Marcus where the children graduated from Marcus High School.
Jerry died September 7, 1985 but Sherree stayed on the farm alone and continued to work at the Hospital until 1994 when she moved into Marcus. She may have thought that retirement was for her in the next coming years, but the Lord had other plans for her. She was an active member of Peace Lutheran Church in Marcus, was a parish nurse, and was active in the church activities Braille program where workers transcribed into Braille, “Christ’s Word to Those in Darkness” that was started in 1976. Their dedication continued with this program until after 37 years, it was a bittersweet moment when it was no longer needed as modern technology was making “live” reading from tapes that played the book contents. Sherree was one of 18 women and 8 men that helped with this mission.
January 1, 2002 Sherree became the first woman on the Marcus City Council replacing Fred Wilkens. She admitted she had a lot to learn about city government but was willing to learn. While serving on the City Council, many events were to take place in Marcus. Marcus residents met in City Hall to discuss a project that would preserve for public benefit education and enjoy the historical heritage of our community. Meetings would be held at City Hall on the last Tuesday of the month until a permanent location was found. The Danish Lutheran Church on 208 W. Cedar St. was to be the home for the Reed Center. When a bigger place was needed, a place was built west of the Marcus Fair Grounds and named “Marcus Historical Society”. Sherree has been an active member of the Historical Society from its beginning.
The Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church that was located approximately 12+ miles from Marcus, and due to lack of parishioners, was looking to save their church by moving it someplace. While on the City Council, she was instrumental in the relocation of this church to its present place north of the Historical Society. This church has been a place for many weddings and other community activities since its arrival.
Serving on the City Council, she was involved with the Senior Citizen program and “Meals on Wheels”. After being on the Council, she still continued to be involved with this Senior Citizen program. When there became a need for a Community Ministry Food Pantry, Sherree was there as one of the board members and helping when ever needed.
Heartland Care Center was established in 1994 where Sherree is a volunteer and a member of the Heartland Care Center Auxiliary.
It was December 31, 2009 that Mayor Darrell Downs presented out-going Council person, Sherree Ogren with a Certificate of Appreciation thanking her for the outstanding service, dedication and commitment as Council Member of Marcus.
She might have been done serving on the City Council but as you can see, she has always been involved in many activities, some of which many of us are not aware of. She has said that her aim was to keep Marcus thriving and growing and a GREAT PLACE TO CALL HOME! Sherree has touched many lives since she became “one of us” and we thank her for this. Happy Birthday, Sherree!