THIS PAGE WAS CREATED FEBRUARY 2002 AND UPDATED MAY 2004

INA "MARIE"KLINGAMAN PUENTE BERGER Born: Marie was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory on August 7, 1907 to Katie Ann Tye and Jacob Franklin Klingaman. She had one sister, Lottie Lois Klingaman who was six years older. Two young brothers had died before she was born.

Marriage: Marie married Julius I. Puente in about 1927 in Chicago, Illinois and they divorced after just a year or two. On May 2, 1936 she married Edward Mandel Berger in Cheyenne, Wyoming but they made their home in Denver, Colorado and suburbs for most of their years, moving to Sedona, Arizona in 1981.

Children:

Marie "Elaine" Puente was born to Marie and Julius Puente on February 20, 1928 in Chicago, Illionis. Elaine married James Elmer Diehl in Colorado about 1952. She and Jim divorced after several years and she had no children.

Lois Jane Berger was born to Marie and Ed Berger on July 29, 1937 in Denver, Colorado. She married Donald Marion Rhoads in 1959 in Colorado. They had a son and a daughter and lived in the Dallas area. They were divorced in 1976. Lois married Dale Dean Eggers in 1982 in Sedona, Arizona where they lived for several years and then moved on to Hawaii and eventually retired to southern Missouri.

Edward Franklin Berger was born to Marie and Ed Berger on June 29, 1939 in Denver, Colorado. He married Marcia McInnes and they divorced after a short marriage. He later married JoAnn Hindleman in Colorado and they had two sons there. By the the early 1990's they were living in Arizona.

Claire Elizabeth Berger was born to Marie and Ed Berger on August 7, 1947 (which was also her mother's birthday) in Denver, Colorado. She married Clark Reed and they had one son and lived near Cortz, Colorado They divorced and she married Guy Wagner. They moved to the area around San Diego , California.

Locations: Marie lived her first 10 to 12 years in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She lost her mother when just 33 months old so she lived with her grandmother Lucy Jane Tye during those early years. Then she went to live with her half sister, Nellie Klingaman White. Nellie was the wife of a Denver potter, Frank White. She was the daughter of Jacob Franklin Klingaman and Jennie Cleaver who had died soon after Nellie was born. Marie lived with Nellie and Frank until she graduated from South High School in Denver. That was the year that Nellie died. (1925).

After that Marie went to Chicago to live with her only living sibling, Lottie "Lois" Rye. Lois had married Mitchell Charles Rye. Marie stayed in Chicago after she married and divorced Julius Puente but by the time her daughter, Elaine, was about three or four they had moved back to Denver.

After her marriage to Ed Berger the couple settled in the greater Denver area. In 1981 they moved to Sedona, Arizona where their daughter, Lois Jane was living. Soon they were joined in Sedona by daughter Elaine and Son Edward and his family as well.

Death: Marie was widowed in 1988 but with help was able to remain in her own home for the rest of her years. On December 23, 1993 she was with her family for a pre-Christmas dinner at the home of her daughter, Lois, in Sedona Arizona. She had a severe asthma attack there and died within a few minutes.

Further notes: Marie was an extremely talented artist. She could also write well and was always imaginative and creative in whateaver she decided to do. She explored many different crafts and art media, leaving behind many varied expressions of her work. Eventually her focus turned to doll making and she became widely known in the doll collectors world for her own doll designs and for the color of her porcelain work that matched skin tones very well. She was an avid colletor of dolls and put together a huge collection of them from all periods and countries. She always collected many other fine things that happened to catch her eye.

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