Marie Sanders

Marie Sanders was born on May 4, 1916 in Lanesboro, Iowa, in the same house her Dad and sisters were born in. She was the middle daughter of five who were born to Charley and Justina Myers. Marie was preceded in death by her parents, four sisters and her husband Emmett.

Emmett and Marie were married for 65 years.

Marie is survived by one daughter, Sharon Richey, four grandchildren, Rick (Brenda) Richey, Robert (Beth) Richey, Shelly Richey and Debbie (Steve) Harris. She had six great grandchildren, Sarah (Stuart) Cregger, Amanda Swanson, Rick Richey, Brooke Richey, Elizabeth Harris and Shannon Harris. She had one great great grandson, Carter Cregger.

Marie’s life was her faith and her family. If you were not family, you would still receive family treatment from her. She was always the caregiver for many family members. There were few times in her life that she was not caring for someone. At one time in her life she “adopted” eight Air Force men. These men were away from home and their Mom, so Marie took them in and loved them as her own.

Marie had many occupations during her life, homemaker, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, restaurant owner, Stanley Home Products and Tupperware demonstrator, Amway distributer, clerk at the Air Force Finance center, clerk at a toy store where she ordered the first of many Barbie dolls. She loved to sew, cook, crochet, knit and can food from the garden.

Church was so important to her. You could count on her being there whenever there was a service. In her later years she began a card ministry. Every week she received the numerous prayer requests that were sent to the church and she would prayerfully and purposely write notes of encouragement, prayers and send these out. Some week there were such a large number of cards that she would put them in a ziplock baggie and put it out for her mail carrier. She spent hours looking for just the right card with the right message for individual people. Today, you will each receive a card that she could no longer write in or send to someone. The family asks that you write a note in this card and mail it to someone you know in honor of Marie.

Marie loved Snicker candy bars. She always had the little mini ones around and in every purse, pocket, drawer or cupboard. When her family moved her out of her apartment, bags of Snickers and the wrappers were found everywhere. She always had an excuse for eating one. The Snicker bars became a staple food item for her when she went to Bear Creek Care Center. We found them hidden inside many things there and as generous as she was, she wouldn’t share her Snickers.

The one real joy for Marie this past year, was the birth of Carter, her first great great grandson. She could not always remember who he belonged to but she knew that he was our family and that he was born on what would have been Emmett’s 99th birthday. She couldn’t always remember his name so she called him “little Emmett”. She loved all the pictures she had of him. These were arranged so they were the first thing she saw in the mornings and the last thing she saw at night.

The past two and a half years Marie spent at Bear Creek Care Center in Morrison. Her life was pleasant there, although she missed her home. She no longer could walk on her own, but was able to move about in a wheelchair. It was at Bear Creek that Marie graduated from this earth to heaven on July 16, 2012. She will be missed by many people there as well as all her family and friends.

At Marie’s request, any memorial donations can be made to the charity of your choice.