Marilyn West, 92

Marilyn May West, age 92, while living in Greeley, Colorado, passed away on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

She was born June 6, 1931 daughter of the late Ralph and Aftan (Guthire) Bell.

She spent her childhood with two younger brothers, David and Alan Bell, in and around Sturgis. She liked reminiscing about the one room Sherman Township School she attended, how she loved learning what the older kids in her school were learning, how her teacher told her she would be a good teacher, and participating in 4-H and riding horses.

Marilyn graduated from Sturgis High School with the class of 1949. That same year, she married Arthur Wallace “Art” West. The two moved to Kalamazoo and attended Western Michigan Teacher’s College. After two years, Art was recalled back into the Navy and it was off to Charleston, South Carolina for two more years.

After the Navy, Marilyn and Art chose to raise their kids just north of Fort Wayne, near Huntertown. They had five children: Karen (Denny) Wente now from Colorado, Tom and Steve West from Fort Wayne, Marsha West from Colorado and Bonny Connelly from Arizona along with foster son: Ken Brooks, now living in Florida. (They also have eight grandkids and 18 great grandkids).

Marilyn and her family belonged to the United Methodist Church in Huntertown while living in the Fort Wayne area. She was a dedicated mother and homemaker. She liked cooking, sewing, reading, music, and drawing. After her kids were mostly raised, she went back to work. First at GE, then doing bookkeeping and accounting-type work at Inland Chemical Company, then Custard Insurance Adjusters.

After retiring about 1993, Marilyn and Art enjoyed traveling, usually camping, mostly throughout the United States, with a few special trips to gorgeous countries like Switzerland and Thailand.

Marilyn and Art bought their retirement home at Tri Lakes near Columbia City, Indiana. They then became ‘snowbirds’, building a second home in Mission, Texas, to escape the cold of winter. After Art died in 1996, Marilyn sold both homes and retired to a senior resort in Arizona.

Marilyn moved to Colorado, about 2006, to spend summers with her daughter, Karen. A few years later, buying a home in Arizona to spend winters with her daughter, Bonny. The last year of her life, Marilyn was well cared for in Grace Pointe Senior Community in Greely, Colorado.

Marilyn’s life was well lived.

The family will receive friends from 12:00 to1:00 on Monday, June 26th at the Rosenberg Chapel of Hackman Family Funeral Homes, 807 E. Chicago Rd. in Sturgis where funeral services celebrating the life of Marilyn May West will immediately follow visitation at 1:00. A graveside committal will follow the service at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Burr Oak.

We encourage relatives and friends to share memories and condolences at www.hackmanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.