What happened to the 29-ounce Rigby baby born in 1939? Here is Marguerite Keller Casey’s story

RIGBY — A local baby born in 1939 who weighed only 29 ounces at birth defied all odds and survived, something her family believes was nothing short of a miracle.

The story of Marguerite Keller Casey, who was born as Marguerite Keller, was featured in our weekly Looking Back column, which looks back on what life was like during different periods in east Idaho history.

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Three of Marguerite’s children — Rachel Smith, of Utah, Roger Casey, of Washington, and Heidi Sollars, of Arizona — recently spoke with EastIdahoNews.com to share more details about their mom’s incredible life story.

Born three months premature

Marguerite, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Ivan Keller of Rigby, was born Aug. 22, 1939 – three months premature as her due date wasn’t supposed to be until November.

Marguerite’s children said their mother was born at home, and their grandpa (Marguerite’s father) told them she was so tiny she fit in his hand. He placed his daughter in a shoebox with a water bottle and blankets to keep her warm before they rushed her to the Idaho Falls LDS Hospital.

Marguerite’s hospital stay

In the hospital, a nurse would feed Marguerite with an eyedropper, and when her blood count would drop and a blood transfusion was needed, her doctor, Dr. Aldon Tall, would give her a tablespoon of his own blood to keep her going.

“My grandparents said that Dr. Price and Dr. Tall told them they should prepare for the worst outcome as the doctors did not believe my mom would survive,” Sollars explained. “My grandpa said that they had her in an ‘incubator’ that was nothing more than a small bed lined with lightbulbs.”

The Idaho Falls Post Register reported that at one point, Marguerite’s weight dropped to 23 ounces. Despite not knowing what the outcome would be for their daughter, Smith said her grandparents clung to their faith.

“My grandparents were religious people (and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and grandpa gave her priesthood blessings,” Smith said. “My grandparents had tremendous faith and trust in God.”

Marguerite gets released from the hospital

Marguerite spent the first six months of her life in the hospital before eventually being released to go home.

Smith said her mother was about a 12- to 14-inch baby when she came home and that her grandparents used doll clothes to dress her. Smith remembers her grandma telling her that she also used her husband’s handkerchiefs for diapers because Marguerite was still small.

A family member even made a cradle for Marguerite out of an orange crate, which they padded with fabric, because she was too tiny to fit in a baby basket.

“The whole community was so enamored with her that there was an article (written) about the time my grandpa came to the newspaper office to pay his bill and had my mom in tow,” Sollars said. “They were so amazed to see how healthy and well she was doing.”

A miraculous outcome

It’s not only the fact that Marguerite survived that makes her story touching, but it’s knowing that she went on to become the only one of eight children born to her parents who lived.

All of her siblings were stillborn except for her baby brother, Dean Harry Keller, who was born when she was 8 years old in 1947. He died the same week he was born.

Marguerite’s children said his death certificate states the cause of death as premature birth.

“Back then, they were unsure why my grandma couldn’t carry a baby to term,” Sollars said. “Years later my grandma said that she was told after having a hysterectomy that she did not have a fully developed uterus and it was the cause of all her pregnancy complications.”

Smith added, “The fact that mom survived makes her a miracle to us and to my grandparents. People would come to my grandparents’ house to see the miracle baby, and my grandmother made them stay outside and look through the windows to see her. As you can imagine, she was not going to take any chances of losing this child.”

Marguerite grows up

When Marguerite was still young, her family moved from Rigby to Anaconda, Montana, where she grew up.

Smith remembers her grandma telling her that her mother was a “very obedient child,” and she “never gave my grandparents a minute of trouble.”

Down the road, on Aug. 26, 1959, Marguerite got married in the Idaho Falls Temple to Merle Duane Casey. Together, they had seven healthy children — two boys and five girls.

Due to Marguerite being born at such a low birthweight, Sollars said her mom did have issues with her kidneys during her life. Smith mentioned she had one kidney that never developed any larger than the size of a bean, but it functioned until she was in her 60s, then she had to have it removed. Marguerite, who also developed type 2 diabetes, ended up on dialysis.

Marguerite died on Dec. 16, 2014, in Richland, Washington, at the age of 75.

Remembering Marguerite

Her children remember their mother as being a kind and loving person who was a “social butterfly” and “genuinely interested in people.” She loved kids, animals and weddings.

“She always said, ‘I love you,’ when we were leaving or ending a conversation,” Casey, her son, recalled. “As a kid it was embarrassing, but as an adult I grew to appreciate it and feel I may have taken that for granted.”

Her children said she was their biggest cheerleader and was “larger than life.”

“She would tell you that her biggest accomplishment in life was being a mother and grandmother,” Smith said. “She loved her children with all her heart.”

Her obituary can be read here.

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