One by one they stepped up to describe their best “Maggie moment.”

They spoke, they laughed, they cried. Then after a few hours of anecdotes and poetry, hugs and handshakes, photos and music, the crowd grew silent. It was time to say goodbye to a longtime, beloved friend.

Margaret “Maggie” Trimble had such a profound effect on the lives she touched. She was a pioneer who influenced the rise of young women’s scholastic sports in Auburn and throughout the state. She was a revered personality whose rugged-but-loving reputation preceded her.

She was the matriarch to the many followers who needed strong guidance, a steady hand or just a bit of advice. She had a no-nonsense, can-do style, but was a compassionate lady who demanded and brought out the best in her students and players.

Calm but lovably intimidating at times, Trimble was a one-of-a-kind woman, teacher, coach, counselor, rival and friend whose words and actions impacted generations.

“She was one great, wonderful lady,” said Julie Owens, one of four Rice sisters who flourished in Trimble’s gymnastics program during the 1970s. “She just loved you so much, cared for you … got you to believe in yourself.

“She was my hero.”

Just as Coach Trimble cared for her kids, Owens and her sisters took care of their coach. Julie Owens was Trimble’s caregiver during the final eight months of her life.

“We were doing for her what she did for us,” Julie Owens said.

Weakened by pneumonia, Trimble passed away peacefully in her Auburn home on March 14. A large collection of family and friends came to the Auburn Eagles Hall to celebrate her remarkable life last Saturday, four days after her 84th birthday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, an Auburn High School alumnus, proclaimed April 13, 2010 “Maggie Trimble Day,” an honor Kip Herren, Auburn School District superintendent, announced at the gathering. It was Herren, a former principal and championship wrestling coach at the school, who nominated Trimble to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Hall of Fame.

“That was a shocker,” Trimble said of her enshrinement during a 2008 interview with the Auburn Reporter. “It kind of takes your breath away. Granted, I spent a long time in the business. But there are a lot of people who are there with you.”

Those included Herren, who forged a strong working relationship with Trimble. What Herren and his predecessors did for wrestling, Trimble did for girls sports. She established gymnastics and tennis programs at the school, programs that grew in stature. As Herren pointed out, Trimble was a “fierce” advocate for young women’s athletics, a crusader for Title IX gender equity, someone who took charge.

Herren, then the new wrestling coach, recalled the first time they met.

“I reached out to shake her hand, and she said to me, ‘If you want to use those mats that belong to the gymnastics team, you’re going to have to earn it,’” Herren recalled with a smile.

As a coach at Auburn High School from 1951 to 1982, Trimble established herself in coed sports, and her P.E. classes, clubs, camps and invitational events served as the launching pad for the development of women’s athletics. She coached tennis, swimming, cheerleading and boys track. She also worked as a health and biology teacher.

“She just touched so many hearts, and sometimes it was a gruff heart, but you knew she cared about you,” said Terri Herren, who succeeded Trimble as the Auburn gymnastics coach. Today, Herren is the principal at Auburn Mountainview High School. “She was always very loyal to Auburn, not just to her programs, but to other programs.”

A self-made woman, Trimble earned her degree from the University of Washington. She was a versatile athlete who played field hockey, softball and swam, among other sports. She paid her way through school by working summers on the “green chain” at a lumber mill in Blaine and was a welder’s apprentice in the Navel Shipyards at Bremerton.

She married Willard Trimble in 1955, and they raised a son, Michael, who lives today.

After teaching and coaching for 26 years, Trimble retired in 1982, but remained active in Auburn High athletics for many years.

Trimble was a “dream maker”, a reality made possible through conditioning, fundamentals and practice, she preached. Others bought into it.

Chris Luther, a diminutive and awkward tennis prospect in high school at 5-foot-3 and 112 pounds, said Trimble helped show him the way. Trimble encouraged Luther to change speeds and sports. She introduced him to the track and field coach.

“She said, ‘Chris, I couldn’t afford you. You lost too many tennis balls,’ ” Luther told the crowd.

Luther used running as a path to a successful career – in college, the military, family and life. He has never forgotten Maggie’s Midas touch.

“We’re all better because of Maggie Trimble,” said Luther, who attended the wind-swept graveside service on April 2 in Blaine, Wash., where Trimble spent her early childhood and teen years.

Even in her final days, when she was sick, Trimble remained upbeat and complimented others.

She was wise, humble, resilient. And she left a striking legacy.