Marion E Taff

Marion recalled her family residing with relatives in the Walnut Park area of St. Louis during the early years of the Great Depression. Then her family relocated to Belleville, IL, where she graduated from Zion Lutheran School in 1937 and Belleville Township High School in 1942.

When Marion was 16, she attended a birthday party for her best friend, Charlotte Taff. During the party, Charlotte’s older brother, Roland, drove up in his new car. He stepped out of it wearing an Army Air Corps uniform and Marion was smitten. The two became a couple.

A wedding was planned for mid-December, 1941. But Pearl Harbor delayed that event because all leave was canceled. The couple married on January 17, 1942, just 3 days before Marion’s 18th birthday. Then they drove east to Windsor Locks, CT, where Rollie, a Photo Mapper, was stationed. Following a transfer to Fort McDill, the rest of the war was spent in Tampa, FL, where a son, Gary, was born.

After the war, Marion missed her family in Belleville. Rollie received an honorable discharge and they set up housekeeping next door to her parents. A second son, Greg, was born.

The couple joined Signal Hill Lutheran Church and remained active members for the rest of their lives. Marion participated in the church choir, Bell Choir and served as a Greeter and Lector. Marion and Rollie often spoke of the many happy times spent with the Married Couples Club and later, Sharers and Carers.

Marion, a talented seamstress, sewed hand-smocked infant and girl’s dresses for the Women’s Exchange in St. Louis. That income helped fund many two-week family vacations to Pompano Beach, FL, in the 1950’s and 1960’s. She loved sewing dresses for her two granddaughters. She also made blankets for the Linus Project.

In 1962, Marion began a 25-year career as a secretary in Nursing and Allied Health Departments at Belleville Area College. She loved talking with the students, offering encouragement whenever she could. She planned the “Pinning Ceremony” there for several years. In 1986, she was selected by her peers as Outstanding Secretary.

Marion had lots of friends throughout her life and was a very social, fun person. She lived life to the fullest!

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Clara (nee Schmalensee) Miller; and her beloved husband of 71 years, Roland E. Taff.

Dearest Mother of Gary L. Taff and Greg L. Taff (Linda); Grandmother of Sarah E. Humes (Eric) and Meghan R. Taff (Michael Clarke); Great-Grandmother of Claire, Emilie, Elise, and Chloe Humes; nieces and nephews, as well as many friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to Signal Hill Lutheran Church, 8100 West Main St., Belleville, IL 62223; the American Diabetes Association, and the Barnes Retina Institute Research and Development Foundation.

Due to Covid concerns, the funeral will be private, with burial at Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville, Illinois.