Obituary
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1922
2017
Celebration of Life Service for Thelma L. Marshall
A service to celebrate the life and memories of Thelma will be held at Grace of Christ Presbyterian Church, 9 South 8th Ave, Yakima at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 12, 2017.
The family would especially like to thank all those in our community who gave us friendship, emotional support, good thoughts, prayers, love, and physical help during the last several years as well as during the last few weeks of Thelma's life. Thank you to the nurses, doctors, and caregivers at VM Memorial Hospital, including the invaluable support and genuine care from Memorial's Hospice services. And especially we appreciate the beautiful love, care, and lifegiving friendship we received from the staff and community at Englewood Heights over the past couple of years. We love you all.
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Thelma Louise Marshall died on Saturday morning, May 6, 2017. She was born Thelma L. Jacobsen on August 2, 1922 in Vananda, Montana (its ghost town still remains). Due to her father's association with a regional bank, the family lived in several cities in central and eastern Montana (Great Falls, Lewistown, Livingston, Forsyth, and Miles City). She graduated 14th in a class of 250 from Custer County High School in Miles City.She then moved on to Washington State College (now a University) where she met her future husband, Warren Marshall.
Thelma and Warren were married on October 23, 1943 in Tyler, Texas, where Warren was stationed, prior to being deployed to the European theater of World War II. He was among the first who landed on the part of Normandy, France, that was code-named "Utah Beach." Thelma lived and worked in New York City for nearly two years, until Warren came home.
Following the war, Warren and Thelma returned to Pullman, where Warren earned his Master's Degree in Soils Science. They had a son, Douglas, and daughter, Lora Lou, before moving to Yakima in 1956, where she lived the rest of her life. After the birth of their third child, David, in 1964, she returned to work, and with her husband helped grow Agrimanagement, an agricultural consulting company.
Thelma held dear the many friends she made in Yakima, especially through her association with the PTA, Formal Dance Club, Warehouse Theater, Larson Gallery (serving several years on its board), and the Elderhostel educational senior travel program, now known as Road Scholar. She was able to travel extensively with friends and was always curious about new places and people.
Thelma felt she was fortunate to be able to live a laid-back and consequently a very happy life, which was reflected in her home life and her associations with her many friends. Thelma was very proud of her son Douglas and his wife Michell of Orcas Island, her daughter Lora Lou of Colorado Springs, CO, and her son David and his wife Ginger of Yakima, her five grandchildren and their spouses, Colleen Rathbone (Larry), Justin Gillespie (Bree), Megan Hantz (Travis), Phillip Marshall, and Jefferson Marshall, three great-grandsons and many nieces and nephews. They will all miss her greatly.
Thelma loved life and fought to hang on to it until the bitter end, but alas, the fell destroyer, who has always prevailed in such struggles, at last laid claim over her body at age 94. Her spirit remains however, undefeated, and will live on in all of us who love her and remember her. (This paragraph was pre-written by Thelma, herself, knowing her friends would appreciate her sense of humor and love of life. In fact, her end was very peaceful and her spirit does live on.)
A party to celebrate her life will be held later this summer in August 2017. The family will update more details about the memorial service at http://thelma.agrimgt.com, where you can read her family history. You may also share a memory of Thelma at www.keithandkeith.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Keith & Keith Funeral Home -Yakima.
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