Margaret Alice (Westerskow) Forster, formerly of Conifer, 1923-2019

Margaret Alice (Westerskow) Forster passed away Sept. 26, 2019 in the Central Montana Nursing and Rehab Center of natural causes. Born Sept. 29, 1923, she was three days shy of her 96th birthday.

Looking for adventure after graduating high school in 1941, Margaret went to Los Angeles to work for an airplane manufacturer as a “Rosie the Riveter.” Wanting to do more for her country and the war effort, she joined the Navy in 1943. She was honorably discharged in 1945 as Aviation Machinist’s Mate Third Class.

Margaret returned to Topeka, where she married Walter “Bud” Epling. They had three children: Robert “Bob,” James “Jim,” and Joanne “Jody.” The family moved to Conifer, Colorado in 1957, where they raised appaloosa horses. Margaret and Bud divorced in the early 60s.

She received her real estate broker’s license in Conifer, where she sold property; she later moved to Kremmling, Colorado, doing the same. She met Bill Forster there, and they married in 1972. They moved to Hotchkiss, Colorado in 1979. They shared their passion for camping and hunting arrowheads with several other couples, three or four times a year, mainly in Colorado and Utah, until Bill’s death in 2006.

She then moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, to be with the last love of her life, Red Barlieb.