Marion Edna Herd

Marion Edna Henderson Herd of Mesa, Arizona, passed away on January 20, 2020. Marion was born on January 6, 1925 in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. When she was eight months old she and her mother moved to Coldwater, Kansas where she lived until her marriage. She grew up on a farm where her family raised cattle, sheep, chickens, feed crops and wheat. Marion grew up during the Great Depression and the dust bowl days where she learned life-long practical survival skills. She learned sewing and cooking from her mother that served her well throughout her life. She was a 1943 graduate of Coldwater High School and was the 1942 football queen. After graduation, she moved to Wichita, Kansas to work as a riveter in an airplane factory to help support the war effort. After World War II, she married her childhood sweetheart, C. Eugene (Gene) Herd, at her family farm near Coldwater, Kansas on November 11, 1945.

They started their married life farming around Coldwater. In December 1946, they moved to Scott City, Kansas when Gene changed careers. Gene became a Kansas State Fish and Game Warden in 1948. They began their family while living in Coldwater with the birth of their son, Roger (1946). After moving to Scott City their daughters, Merletha (1948) and lronda (1949), were born. In January, 1950, a job related transfer moved the family to Baxter Springs, Kansas where they lived for five and a half years. Gene was transferred to western Kansas in 1955. They lived in Dodge City (1955) and Ford (1956), Kansas.

In 1958, they moved to Northern Arizona to begin their ministry among the Hopi, Navajo and Papago Indians affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination. Marion taught not only Bible principles, but also practical skills of good nutrition, sewing and how to care for a family. After 34 years of working with the American Indians, they retired in 1992 and moved to Northern California to live near their children and grandchildren.

Marion continued to live in their home in Pittsburg, California after her husband passed away in November 1998. In 2010, she moved to an assisted living facility in Brentwood, California, near her daughter. In 2013, she moved back to Arizona to live in an assisted living facility in Mesa, Arizona, near her son, where she resided until her passing.

Marion is survived by son, Roger (Launa) Herd of Mesa, Arizona, daughters, Merletha (Jim) Hamilton of Sunnyvale, California, and lronda Long of Delaware, Ohio; three grandsons, Jeffrey Long of Las Vegas, Nevada; Richard (Meghan) Herd of Clayton, California, Duaine Herd of Concord, California; granddaughter, Cynthia (Jason) Campbell of Delaware, Ohio; seven great-grandchildren; brother, LeRoy Hiner and numerous nieces, nephews, and in-laws. She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, mother and stepfather Merl and Chester Hiner, father, Ben Henderson, sister, Alberta Thomas, brother Richard Hiner, and son-in-law Randall Long.