Darlene Legge, age 62, of Flower Mound, TX, died Tuesday, October 9th in Ankeny, IA under Hospice Care at her sister’s house surrounded by loved ones. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM Monday, October 15th at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Sanborn, ND. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and one hour before the mass on Monday AM. A vigil service will be held at 7:00 PM Sunday evening at the church. Interment will be in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, Sanborn, ND.
Darlene was born December 30, 1955 to Wallace and Carol (Reidman) Legge. She was the eldest of 7 siblings, growing up on a farm near Sanborn, North Dakota. She attended school at North Central of Barnes and continued her education at the University of North Dakota, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. After graduating she worked at Mercy Hospital in Valley City, North Dakota and then moved to Denver, Colorado where she worked at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital as an ICU charge nurse for 6 years. Her adventurous nature brought her to Eugene, Oregon where she met her husband Stephen Ellis. They relocated to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area where Darlene became the Director of Medical-Surgical-Telemetry at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Flower Mound, at which time she earned her Master’s Degree from Baylor University. Her expertise in the medical field led her to her current position at CHRISTUS Health in the Member Educator/Staff Development Department.
Darlene discovered her love of cooking at a young age. Whether it was preparing farm meals for nine at the dinner table with a perfect banana cream pie for dessert or a grilled-to-perfection meal for two, she had the ability to please all taste buds. She was not secretive with her recipes, she wanted everyone to enjoy a great meal. Darlene’s other passion was reading. When she was young, her favorite Christmas gift was a book. In times of triumph or sorrow her Kindle was always within reach and brought her great pleasure.
Darlene’s legacy is her considerate, kind, compassionate and generous nature. She always considered how decisions, words, and actions were going to affect other people. Darlene was fiercely protective of her loved ones. She will be sadly missed by those closest to her, but will continue to live in our hearts.
Darlene is survived by her husband, Stephen Ellis; step children Jason Ellis and Stephanie (David) Frings and their sons Jack, Connor and Steven; parents Wallace and Carol Legge; siblings, Maribeth (Don) Miller, Scott (Judy) Legge, Brenda (Dan) McLaughlin, Doug (Deanna) Legge, Lori (Leonard) Stevenson, and Dwight (Patty) Legge; and several nieces and nephews. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be made to UnityPoint Hospice-Des Moines.
Funeral arrangements by the Lerud Mathias Funeral Home of Valley City. An online guestbook is available at www.lerudschuldt.com