Marilyn Anna Mack

Marilyn A. Mack October 7, 1926 - April 11, 2022 Wenatchee, Washington Marilyn Anna (Miller) Mack was born on Oct. 7, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minn. At three, her parents and older brother, Merle, moved to a farm in northeast Montana. There, her younger brother Mark was born. Marilyn took to farm life. She enjoyed the animals and the one-room schoolhouse where she studied. But her family also faced hardships. Mark died at age five from appendicitis. The Great Depression and drought eventually forced them to sell the farm. The family moved to Wolf Point, Montana, where Marilyn graduated from high school. She returned to Minnesota, attending Concordia College in Moorhead and studying to become a teacher. She got a job teaching middle school in Fosston, Minn., and later in Phoenix, Ariz. For a woman who spent most of her life in the northern latitudes, Arizona suited Marilyn. Though she only lived there a short time, the art and jewelry of the southwest was a presence wherever she lived. Ed Mack met Marilyn through her brother, Merle. They married in 1950 and settled in Wolf Point, Mont. Their first daughter, Ellen, died at birth. While moving between Montana and Bismarck, N.D. for Ed's job with the Bureau of Reclamation, they welcomed three more daughters: Marsha, Nadine, and Lauren. The family moved to Ephrata, Wash. in 1958 where Marilyn kept busy with her three daughters, active church membership, and a return to teaching in the nearby town of Soap Lake. Marilyn and Ed retired to Wenatchee, Wash. in 1988 where they hosted holiday dinners and Wiffle ball games for all eight of their grandchildren. They enjoyed trips back to Arizona and being able to help care for their nearby granddaughters, Anna and Kaleena. Ed died in 2000, and Marilyn moved to Spokane, Pullman, and then back to Wenatchee. She continued to enjoy her friends, singing hymns, and rooting for Gonzaga basketball. She died on April 11, 2022, at Blossom Valley Assisted Living in Wenatchee. Marilyn is survived by her daughters and their spouses: Marsha and Bob Olsen (Pullman, Wash.), Nadine and Ken Onstot (Des Moines, Wash.), and Lauren Mack (Wenatchee, Wash.), her eight grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren (with one more on the way). Services will be held Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 11:00 AM, at the Cashmere Presbyterian Church. Memorials may be made to Confluence Health Foundation, 731 N. Chelan Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801 in Memory of Marilyn Mack. Arrangements are in the care of Heritage Memorial Chapel East Wenatchee and Cashmere.