Margot Aserlind

Longtime Livingston resident and Force of Nature Margot Aserlind left the landscape peacefully on Sunday, December 7, 2025—at precisely 97 and ¾ years old. “Mumsie,” as she was known by family and close friends, lived her extraordinary life fully, right up to the end. It’s not hyperbole to say that those who had the privilege of knowing her loved her. She made everyone feel special and valued with her kindness, grace, intellect, curiosity, her sense of humor—and, most of all, her empathy. Her physical beauty was outshone only by her inner beauty.

Margot Luebben was born on March 7, 1928, in Dillon, Montana, where her dad, a Michigan graduate with a Forestry degree, had a successful plumbing business. Her mother, a Berkeley graduate, was a professor of Romance Languages at what was then called Montana State Normal College (now University of Montana-Western.) Margot’s beloved Uncle Sheldon was President of MSNC from 1919-1946. Growing up at a teachers’ college would prove prophetic for Mumsie’s career and lifetime of community service.

Margot headed off to college in Missoula, where she was a Journalism major and lived in the Delta Gamma sorority house. She met the love of her life, a Livingston boy named LeRoy Aserlind, Jr.—whom she affectionately called “Ad.” They were married in 1950 and embarked on their careers as educators. Their first teaching positions were in Wallace, Idaho—and then on to Idyllwild, California, where their first child, Eric, was born on Ad’s birthday. Ad’s pursuit of a Master’s degree took them to Eugene, Oregon, where son #2, Marc, was born—on Margot’s birthday! They were a family of four with two birthdays.

From Eugene they moved to Klamath Falls (where their third son, Tiger, was born) and then to Helena—where they finally got their girl, Kristy. A fellowship for Ad to get his PhD at the University of Wisconsin brought them to Madison. After raising four kids in a cramped student housing apartment, Ad’s completion of his PhD, and accepting a professorship, the family moved to the West side of Madison as first-time homeowners.

To say the four children had an idyllic childhood would be an understatement: they had the two best people on the planet as parents. Now that all the children were in school, with Ad secure in a job he loved, Margot went back to school to earn a master’s degree in special education. She also dived headfirst into charitable work: learning how to read Braille and then transcribe the written word into Braille—and founding Volunteer Braillists, Inc. In addition, she worked tirelessly for charities associated with Delta Gamma and Catherine Beecher (an early advocate for women’s education.) She also began her 25+-year stint as a Volunteer Ski Patroller for the nearby ski area where Ad was the Director of the Ski School.

While pursuing her Master’s degree, Margot got her state teaching license and started substitute teaching in the Madison Public Schools. She was a busy sub, as she could teach blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, and regular ed classes, at the elementary, middle school, or high school levels—a real utility player in the teaching world.

In the early 1970s, she started her career at James Madison Memorial High School the same year that her daughter was a freshman there. They would ride their bikes to school together, when it wasn’t too snowy! Margot taught Special Ed at Memorial for close to two decades until she and Ad retired and moved to Livingston to the Ninth St. Island home that the family had lovingly built years earlier. Margot still had former students calling and writing to her almost 50 years later to check in and thank her for what she had done for them all those years ago. That is testament to the impact she had on people throughout her life—and she firmly believed that no other career could be as truly rewarding as teaching.

When she arrived in Livingston, Margot wasted no time getting involved in the community: she became President of The Hospital League, Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Park County Chapter of the Red Cross, a Board Member of Friends of the Library, served on the Community Concert Board of Directors, was part of the Yellowstone Flood Protection Council, and volunteered at the Livingston Depot gift shop. She was an active member of PEO-Chapter BW, and moderated candidate debates for the local AAUW (American Association of University Women) chapter. She sang in the community choir and played the violin in a community orchestra. She was an avid swimmer, a fixture during morning lap swim at the Livingston City Pool well into her 80s. She could be seen riding her trusty bike to the pool, to get groceries, to Chico Hot Springs--even after turning 90. She and Ad continued their lifelong love of skiing at Bridger Bowl—her final day on skis was on her 89th birthday.

She and Ad shared a curiosity about the rest of the world, and a passion for educational international travel. They immersed themselves in the cultures of all corners of the world: The Silk Route (following the ancient trade route from Pakistan through Kyrgstan and Uzbekistan to China,) Antarctica, Argentina, Africa, the Galapagos, sea kayaking in Tonga, Russia, trekking in Nepal, Croatia, Ireland, New Zealand, Egypt and France, to name a few.

Let’s raise a toast (a Margarita, of course!) to Mumsie and follow her motto: “You Gotta Wanna!”

Margot is survived by her sons, Eric (Cathy Burnweit) of Coral Gables, FL, Marc (Jill Ackerman) of New York City, and Jan-Carl (aka Tiger) of Livingston; a daughter, Kristy (Dana Ham) of Livingston; six beloved grandchildren: Bradley (Meena) of Austin, TX, Tess Wood of Jackson, WY, Christian Wood of Chicago, IL, Ali Szczupak (Mike) of Miami, FL, Max (Maura Moosnick) of New York City, and Toril of New York City; four great-grandchildren and four nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, LeRoy, and her sister, Mandi Bradley. 

The family would like to make a special thanks the staff at Caslen Living Center for their loving care of Margot over the past three years. 

There will be a Celebration of Life for Margot in Livingston, Montana in June of 2026. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to any of the many charities that Margot supported over her lifetime.

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