Marge Riepe had a knack for making light of things while taking her Germantown duties seriously. Like last Thursday night when she combined a Germantown history presentation with judging the Poplar Estates Homeowners Association chili-cooking contest. She joked that chili was not a great appetizer for a speech. Mrs. Riepe, community relations officer for Germantown since July 2001, died Monday after suffering a stroke last week. She was 52. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Family Funeral Care with burial in Memorial Park. "She had extremely high standards for the work she did," said her husband, Jerry Riepe, a Fairley High math teacher. "She was a very, very special lady." Mrs. Riepe handled media relations for Germantown, acting as suburb spokeswoman, editing the city newsletter and reviewing publications. She was instrumental in the city's informative Web site and cable access channel. "She was very well-organized," City Administrator Patrick Lawton said, "and was able to keep all of those projects up in the air at one time." Before her city employment, Mrs. Riepe worked for the Germantown News and Towery Publications. Away from work, Mrs. Riepe spent time with her son, Matt Doll, a Vanderbilt University cross-country runner. Whenever Doll raced, Riepe tried to be there. "Next to my mother, she was the best mother I've ever seen," Jerry Riepe said. Mrs. Riepe was known for her laid-back attitude and sometimes-cynical wit. "She was probably one of the funniest people I've ever been around," Lawton said. "She saw the lighter side of most things." Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy knew Mrs. Riepe not only from her work with the city, but also as a neighbor. They lived across the street from each other. In addition to her husband of 14 years, and Doll, both of Germantown, Mrs. Riepe, the widow of Jack Doll, also leaves five stepsisters, Lorene Allred, Louise Stauffer, Maxine Sammons, Marjorie Entsminger and Ardith Ingwersen, and a stepbrother, Robert Hill, all of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The family requests that memorials be sent to Germantown Public Library or Germantown Animal Shelter. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 3/3/2004)