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

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Published at 8:37 am, March 27, 2025

Marguerite Keller Casey. | Courtesy photo

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.

Three of Casey’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

Casey, 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.

Casey’s children said their mother was born at home and their grandpa (Casey’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.

Casey’s hospital stay

In the hospital, a nurse would feed Casey with an eyedropper, and when her blood count would drop and a blood transfusion was needed, Casey’s 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.”

(Left to right) Dr. Price and Dr. Tall. | Courtesy photo

The Idaho Falls Post Register reported that at one point, Casey’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 (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.”

Casey gets released from the hospital

Casey 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 Casey was still small.

A family member even made a cradle for Casey 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 mentioned. “They were so amazed to see how healthy and well she was doing.”

Newspaper clippings about Marguerite Keller Casey. | Courtesy photo

A miraculous outcome

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

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

Casey’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 stated. “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 grandparent’s 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.”

The Keller family. | Courtesy photo

Casey grows up

When Casey 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 that she “never gave my grandparents a minute of trouble.”

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

Merle and Marguerite Casey on their wedding day. | Courtesy photo

Due to Casey 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 60’s, then she had to have it removed. Casey, who also developed type II diabetes, ended up on dialysis.

Casey died on Dec. 16, 2014, in Richland, Washington, at the age of 75 years old.

Remembering Casey

Casey’s 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 mentioned. “She loved her children with all her heart.”

Casey’s obituary can be read here.