Pilgeram honored for abundant contributions

Marcia Pilgeram is a woman of abundance: abundant talent, skill, passion, and generosity. 

Marcia swears she was born with a wooden spoon in her hand. She combines her twin passions for food and travel, leading cultural travel tours throughout the world. She honed her scone skills in Ireland and perfected her ravioli technique in Italy. Her generosity encompasses countless volunteer hours, planning and orchestrating numerous community fundraisers, feeding grieving families, serving at a soup kitchen Thanksgiving Day, and offering her undivided attention and a strong shoulder to lean on. 

The Women Honoring Women Committee honors Marcia Pilgeram with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Bonner County. 

Marcia’s birth home was Trident, Mont., and she was raised in Helena. The youngest of four children, she grew up independent and inquisitive. Her love of cooking surfaced early. At age eight, Marcia was preparing food for her family. Marcia attended Helena High School and Carroll College in Montana. 

After college, she worked for a veterinarian who inspired her to study for and pass the exam to become a licensed animal health technologist. She then joined the Montana Livestock Department testing cattle, elk, and bison. Soon after, Marcia met her future husband and joined him on his third-generation cattle ranch. Marcia remembers delivering calves on snowy nights and cooking large meals for hungry ranch hands which fed her passion for connecting people with food.

After ranch life ended, Marcia opened a catering and event venue in Missoula. One of her clients was Montana Rail Link, and so began her career and passion for uniting food and travel. When a group of investors founded a private passenger train on the Montana Rail Link route, Marcia relocated to Sandpoint for the startup of Montana Rockies Rail Tours in 1995. Marcia was the perfect person to head that venture and oversaw the entire operation. That was also when Marcia became a single mom. Many Bonner County residents were fortunate to take one of Marcia’s wonderful rail trips.

The train tours ran until 2004, ceasing operations due to a huge increase in insurance costs caused by 9/11. Marcia became a chef on private Pullman trains. She also organized food and wine tours for the Smithsonian. Today, Marcia owns and operates "Capers" a local travel agency. She specializes in cultural travel, and plans and guides trips all over the world, including her two favorite places: Spain and Ireland. Those lucky enough to take a Capers trip will tell you tales of amazing food, exploration, and adventure in a safe and supportive environment. 

Marcia’s favorite dish to create is paella. Her three freezers are full of made-with-love dishes ready to be delivered to anyone in need. During COVID, Marcia was one of the few people allowed to deliver homemade food to Kinderhaven, continuing her tradition of baking personalized, holiday cookies for each of the kids. Marcia is a long-time member of Angels over Sandpoint.

In her nomination letter, Dee Ann Smith describes how Marcia envisioned, designed, and orchestrated “The Angel’s Tea,” a favorite community event for many years. Marcia volunteered to help with the Dessert Auction for Bonner General Health Foundation’s Heart Ball. She was thrilled to be part of the team involved with their two most successful auctions, raising over $100,000 for the Foundation. Marcia has also volunteered for Rotary's CHAFE 150, the Panida Theater, the Bonner Community Food Bank, the Festival at Sandpoint, and the Scenic Half. She is a regular columnist for the Sandpoint Reader where she both introduces readers to a huge swath of the world and uses her platform to highlight people and places closer to home.

Marcia has three children: Ryanne, Zane, and Casey, born in 1981, 1982, and 1988, respectively. She relates that she is proud to claim other children as nearly her own! Although she loves food and travel, Marcia’s greatest love is her children and her beloved grandchildren. She is also proud to claim Sandpoint as her forever home. 

The community is invited to join in recognizing Marcia and her fellow honorees at a gala brunch June 15 at the Ponderay Events Center. Reservations will be accepted until June 7, from Diane Stockton at 208-290-6362 or stockton_diane@yahoo.com.