Wellstone's daughter had passion for politics herself
Norman Draper and Terry Collins
Star Tribune

Published Oct. 26, 2002 MARC26

The flag was at half-staff at White Bear Lake High School's south campus Friday, and students were crying in the halls. Popular Spanish teacher Marcia Markuson had died in the plane crash that killed her father, Sen. Paul Wellstone, her mother, Sheila Wellstone, and five others.

Markuson, who went by the name Marcia Wellstone when she was on the campaign trail with her dad, was 33 and one of the school's best-liked teachers. She had taken a leave of absence this fall to work on her dad's campaign and had started to feel some political urges of her own. Her husband, Todd Markuson, 41, said that when she was out on the hustings with her father, fellow Democrats would wonder aloud about when she might follow in his footsteps.

"They had all commented to Paul about how good she was, how she was a chip off the old block, and they were questioning when she would start her own political career," he said. "[DFL gubernatorial candidate] Roger Moe said he had a job for her if he got elected."

Markuson, of Apple Valley, had taught at White Bear Lake High since 1991. She had checked in at the school periodically while on leave to make sure her substitute had the Spanish class well in hand, said Principal Audrey Buss.

Even though she hadn't taught yet this school year, her death hit the school hard. Buss said she got the news around noon from a teacher who had heard about the crash on the radio. The news then went out over the intercom, and the school lapsed into stunned silence.

"As soon as everybody found out, it became deathly quiet," said junior Steve Morrison, 16. "You could hear a pin drop."

Then came the crying and the hugging, and calls flooded the school switchboard. The school day continued, but Buss set aside two rooms for counselors to talk to students. Students will gather at the school today to plan a brief observance before tonight's football game.

"She was a teacher who motivated students and related well to them," said Larry De Nucci, director of schools for the district. "Lots of kids are grieving here today."

Markuson grew up in Northfield, Minn., and earned her bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's degree in education from Hamline University in St. Paul. As part of her undergraduate training, she spent a year studying in Madrid. She had a 7-year-old son, Joshua, from a previous marriage, and three stepchildren: Sydney, 8; Matthew, 12, and Acacia, 10.

She and Todd Markuson married two years ago on Valentine's Day, brought together by their grieving for a mutual friend who had died in a motorcycle accident.

"We were soulmates," Todd Markuson said. "We spent our lives trying to find each other, we were so much in love. We still said we were on our honeymoon."

Todd Markuson, a supervisor for United Parcel Service in Eagan, said his wife was especially pleased to be able to campaign for her father after being otherwise occupied during his past two election campaigns. The first time, she was a college student; the second time, she was a new mom. This time, she was taking full advantage of her opportunity.

"She'd go out for 10 to 12 hours campaigning, and I'd come home from work and ask her how her day went," Markuson said. "It was about an hour debriefing session. . . . She said to me a couple of times, 'I think I could like this.' "

Markuson noted that his wife was nervous about traveling on small planes and often chose to drive, instead of fly, to the next campaign stop.

"She would always call me on her cell phone whenever she was going to fly," he said. "She called me this morning and said, 'I'm leaving to fly with my folks; you know how spooky I get on smaller planes.' And I said, 'Don't be silly; there's no reason.' "