Ingeborg “Margaret” Wickstrom Keysor, surviving spouse of Rev. Charles W. Keysor, died May 30, 2026, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She was 101.
Ingeborg Margareta Wickstrom was born October 16, 1924, in Borgo, Finland, the second of four children of Rev. Werner and Hjordis Wickstrom. The Wickstroms were Swedish-speaking Finns, and when Margaret was five years old, the family emigrated to the United States, where her father went on to serve Swedish-speaking churches in Brooklyn, Bridgeport, and Chicago. Margaret earned her nursing degree from Northwestern University and became a registered nurse.
In 1947 she married Charles “Chuck” Keysor, a journalist who later became a Methodist minister. They raised five children in Elgin, Illinois, and Margaret was a devoted mother and pastor’s wife. She was also instrumental in helping Chuck launch Good News, a magazine for Methodist renewal. In 1972 the family moved to Wilmore, Kentucky, where Chuck continued his magazine work and started a journalism program at Asbury College, with Margaret working alongside him in the Good News office. The Keysors later moved to Clearwater, Florida, where Chuck served as pastor of Countryside Evangelical Covenant Church after transferring his ordination in 1982. In1985, Chuck died from cancer at age 60. After Chuck’s death, Margaret relocated to Greenville, Texas, to be near her son Steve and his family. As she approached ninety, she moved to the Lyngblomsten Apartments in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to be near her daughter Nancy, and eventually to the Lyngblomsten Care Center, where she lived throughout her final years.
Margaret was a woman of strong Christian faith who had moved many times in her life and greeted each chapter with grace. She loved reading, singing, and listening to classical music, and was a talented knitter whose handmade sweaters were treasured by everyone in the family. Wherever she lived, she was known for reaching out to others — especially those who had lost a loved one or were new in town. She often returned to Philippians 4:11: “I have learned in whatsoever state I am to be content.”
Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, Chuck; her son Daniel; her grandson Matthew Koester; and her daughter-in-law Sally. She is survived by her children, Joe, Nancy Koester (Craig), Chuck, and Steve (Rhonda); her daughter-in-law Sally; grandchildren Emily, Jennifer, Alyssa (Blade), and Thomas (Lauren); and great-grandchildren Auden, Hazel Barringer, and Philip Keysor.
A visitation was held on June 8 at the Lyngblomsten Care Center Newman-Benson Chapel in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Peace be to her memory.
