Marion Ruth Ziehe

Marion was the first of four children born to Pete and Opal Welter in Humboldt, Iowa on June 22, 1928. Her parents were farmers in Nashua, IA and instilled in Marion and her sister and brothers the benefits of staying busy and working hard. Early morning chores were an everyday event before school and homework. Marion graduated from high school with honors and soon married to start her own family. On June 1, 1946 Marion Welter wed Wayne C. Ziehe of Plainfield, IA at the Little Brown Church. They stayed in Nashua where Wayne worked at Shield-Bantam and Marion was busy every moment raising four sons. She was an accomplished cook and baker, known especially for her cookies. After a family vacation to the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, the family moved from IA to Renton, WA. It is here that Marion developed a passion for bowling and became quite good at this sport. In addition, she worked to supplement the family income by delivering newspapers and cooking at the bowling alley café. She encouraged her four sons to work hard and was very proud of their earliest accomplishments like having paper routes and developing good work habits. Eventually, she became a grandmother and found another calling, watching her grandchildren grow and develop into adults. She loved the little ones and would spend hours playing with and entertaining them and baking cookies for them to enjoy. She turned this love into another career opportunity by managing the day care center at Skyway Bowl for many, many years. Today, many of the adult Skyway bowlers still refer to her as “Grandma.” And, then Grandma became a Great-Grandma and became involved with her great-grandchildren. She loved shopping for them and would decorate her house and yard according to the holiday season. Even when she was diagnosed with COPD, she didn’t slow down one bit. You could see her cruising the aisles at the local shops with her portable oxygen in tow, always ready with a kind word and a smile especially for the little ones. She loved not only her growing family but her extended family as well. She would pack up children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to make the drive back to Iowa to visit friends and family. These trips were always very special to her as she could see the joy in the faces of her family when they visited the farm and played with their many cousins. Her love of family extended well beyond the call of duty as she brought a grandchild and two great-grandchildren into her home and provided them with a loving environment for many years. She will be greatly missed by all of her family and by everyone whose lives she touched.

Marion was preceded in death by her father (Pete Welter), her mother (Opal Wood Welter), her sister (Helen Welter Anderson), a daughter-in-law (Julie Ziehe), and great-granddaughter (Mary Ann Ziehe). She passed peacefully into the Lord’s waiting arms on February 22, 2011. Surviving Marion are Wayne Ziehe (husband); sons David (Pat), Dennis, Don (Barbara) and Richard (Shirley); twelve grandchildren and thirteen great- grandchildren; brothers Robert (Dorothy) and Roger (Sherry); numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Marion’s name to the American Lung Association (www.lungusa.com).

Arrangements under the direction of Greenwood Funeral Home, Renton, WA.