Marie Widmyer balances fashion business, family and giving back

IN PERSON

COEUR d'ALENE — Marie Widmyer, wife of Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer, has been a business owner for 20 years. But she has loved what she does for a living much longer than that.

“I took 4-H in fourth grade and I made a skirt, and then I had to model it at the fair,” she said this week. “I just really enjoyed that. I loved fashion ever since.”

While at Coeur d'Alene High School, she made some of her own clothes.

“I always had a knack for fashion and wanted to do something in that field,” she said.

Today, the Widmyers own Marie's Boutique and Marmalade Fresh Clothing in Coeur d'Alene.

Fashion is something that's fun, she said, and allows people to express themselves.

“We’re somewhat of a small town, but women care about fashion and having unique clothes,” she said. “We're a very fashion-forward-thinking community, so it's great to be able to bring new and different things and have people appreciate it and enjoy it.”

She's had plenty of success in that department. In November, she plans to join the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

While being a business owner and loving what she does, she still puts her family first. The Widmyers have four grown children, including Ben, 28; Matt 27; and 19-year-old twin daughters, Kaity and Kasey.

“I tried to include, a lot of times, the kids in my work,” she said. “Even the boys, when they were younger, would come to work with me a lot.”

She didn't come from a family like the one she helped create. She grew up, starting at age 4, living in foster homes after her parents split.

She doesn't feel sorry for herself.

“We learn the most through hard times,” she said. “Experiencing difficult things makes you a better person.”

In the future, she plans to work to help foster children.

“I just feel that every kid should grow up in a loving, safe home,” she said. “Too many times kids just bounce around in the foster-care system and they're not given the opportunity to get put up for adoption.”

She would like to help, and she is looking for a way to do so.

She has come a long way since she entered the foster care system.

Steve and Marie Widmyer met while she was playing on a city parks and recreation basketball team coached by Jerry Jaeger. Steve served as assistant coach, though he would take over as coach the next season.

“I started having a crush on him, but I was always too afraid to talk to him,” she said. Steve is seven years older.

One day a friend convinced her to talk to him. During the conversation Marie said she was cold and Steve gave her a jacket to wear. The friend had also convinced her to get something from Steve to take back later so she could see him again.

“He was just a nice guy, just really sincere,” she said.

These days she has to share him with the community.

“He’s always working,” she said. “He always has his phone out, checking emails.”

While both are super busy with family and work, when they do get some free time they like to drive over to Seattle and watch Mariners’ baseball games. The mayor is a big sports fan, particularly of Seattle teams.

Asked if she had a funny secret to share about the mayor, she said he makes some pretty good nachos.

“If you come over to our house for dinner and he cooks you’re only going to get nachos,” she said. “It’s the only thing he knows how to cook.”

If she goes away on a business trip, it’s a certainty the mayor will be surviving on nachos, making a run to the store for chips, cheese, chicken and other ingredients.

“No beans on them, though, he doesn’t like beans,” she said. “Meaty and cheesy.”