Although she spent most of her life lovingly raising a family, playing a mean piano in church, and staying on the straight and narrow, Mary Lorene Margheim was often caught with her hands in the cookie jar.

Then again, why not? Chances are she was the one making it.

For many years her Muddy Fingers Ceramics shop was a staple of small-town commerce in Bennett, a family enterprise producing items as diverse as dolls and dinnerware.

The native of McCallister, Kan., died Feb. 5 at age 81 from complications arising from a fall earlier in the year.

It wasn't just her hands of clay that endeared Mrs. Margheim to those who knew her.

She left her fingerprints all over the lives of her sprawling family. And sprawling is the word: At last count that family included 12 children, more than 30 grandchildren and 50-plus great-grandchildren.

The older ones loved to hear her stories of growing up as Mary Lorene Settle on a farm in Winona, Kan., during the Great Depression. Of riding her horse to school. Of having to go to bed snuggling under wet sheets so she wouldn't breathe the perpetual grit that coated the air. Of having to grope hand-over-hand along a rope from the house to the barn during blinding dust storms. Of the hard times that found her family burning cow chips and tumbleweeds for heat during the bleak winters.

But what they loved above all was, simply, that she was always there for them. It wasn't easy. Waldo Margheim, the man she married, the father of her children, died in an on-the-job accident in 1967, leaving her alone with 10 kids still in the house. Suddenly, Mrs. Margheim "had to be mom and dad for us," recalled her daughter Laura.

If the task was daunting, it certainly didn't overwhelm Mrs. Margheim. Years of growing up on the prairie-crucible of Kansas had taught her perseverance. And it was this trait she shared with and passed on to her brood.

"My mother worked in restaurants; we all did when we could," said Kathy Kurka, another daughter. She also remembered the family collaborating to deliver newspapers. "Everyone kind of always just pitched in."

But woven into the work ethic were seams of fun and recreation. The Margheim kids were active in both the Boy and Girl Scouts, as well as 4-H Clubs - activities their mother also joined as an adult supervisor. And when she wasn't overseeing her kids' activities, Mrs. Margheim found time to sew, cook, crochet, play the piano and - of course - practice her ceramic crafts.

She also dealt with the sadnesses life handed her. Her youngest child, Carol, died in 1966 after only three days of life. Then she lost Waldo. In 2003, her son Steve died from a digestive illness.

Long before then, however, Mrs. Margheim had relocated her brood to Colorado, first to Byers so her oldest son, Donald, could help out. A quick move back to Kansas was followed by a return to Bennett, where she remained.

The decades unfurled and so did her family. Over the past two years, eight new children joined the Margheim line, the most recent being Camryn, a great-granddaughter born in 2005.

"We like to think we've had our own baby boom," laughed Kurka.

But as her family's numbers increased, Mrs. Margheim's mobility grew limited. During hip replacement surgery in 1991 her sciatic nerve was nicked, putting her in a wheelchair for several years. Heart problems and emphysema took their toll as well. On Jan. 22, she suffered a hard fall that left her paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own. She died in a hospital room comforted by 19 family members.

In addition to those 80-plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Mrs. Margheim is survived by six daughters: Mary Jean West, Katherine Kurka, Patricia Goodwin, Rebecca Dickman, Laura Fay Margheim and Joyce Margheim; and six sons: Donald, Jerry, Waldo Jr., Michael, Kenneth and Robert. She also has a brother, Lester Settle, and a sister, Betty Davis.

On Feb. 18, friends and family convened at Harrison's Chapel in Colby, Kan., for her funeral. They requested that those wishing to send cards do so care of the Margheim Family, P.O. Box 336, Bennett, CO 80102.

They hope some of those cards will add to the luster of a woman who didn't let misfortune bring her to her knees. In the end, whether it was the flint-hard ground of the Dust Bowl, the soft, squishy clay of ceramics or the serious business of raising 13 children, Mary Lorene Margheim remained someone who was never afraid to get her hands dirty.

meadowj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2606