Marilyn Joanne (Merrick) Allgood Jacoway

A Funeral will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 2:00 pm at the Ankeny Funeral Home, 1510 West First Street, Ankeny, Iowa 50023. There will be a one-hour Visitation before the service at the funeral home. Following the service, Marilyn will be cremated, and private family burial of her ashes will be in McKeever Cemetery in Colfax, Iowa at a later date.

Marilyn was born on August 15, 1939, in Oskaloosa, Iowa to Earl and Alveta (Hiemstra) Merrick. She attended Oskaloosa High School until she began helping on the family farm. She later earned her GED. She was united in marriage to Frederick Dean Allgood in 1957 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The couple moved to Ankeny in 1963. They later divorced. In 1975, Marilyn met the love of her life, Gary W. Jacoway and they were married on November 26, 1975, at the United Methodist Church in Ankeny, Iowa. They went fishing and camping and enjoyed life until Gary’s passing on December 23, 2001.

Marilyn worked for The Sign Shop and then Kelly Services for many years. The Sign Shop is where she met Gary. Marilyn would often refer to herself as a “Tom Boy” if you ask her about her childhood because she whipped all the other boys while she was growing up. One of her favorite pastimes with Gary was going to Pierre, South Dakota fishing and camping.

Marilyn was an amazing sketch artist. She did all her drawings free hand. Another talent was woodworking. Many of us have some of her creations today. Marilyn could take an old beat-up dresser, chair or what have you and turn it into a beautifully refurbished piece of furniture.

She was called MOM by most of Fred, Rick, Sandra and Mike’s friends. Marilyn loved to dance, in her day you could find her at Traders Lounge sitting in her booth listening to Jerry Reno singing.

Marilyn is survived by her children, Fred (Becky) Allgood, Sandra Allgood, Mike (Randi) Allgood; two brothers, Max Merrick and John Boggess; six grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; two great great-granddaughters; two brothers-in-law, Bruce (Jo) Jacoway and John (Linda) Jacoway and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by the love her life, Gary Jacoway; her mother and stepdad, Alveta and Burt Boggess, her father, Earl Merrick and son, Rick Allgood.

Memorials may be directed to Sunny View Care Center, 410 NW Ash Dr, Ankeny, IA 50023 in loving memory of Marilyn.

Serving as pallbearers are Shane Conlin, Travis Midas, Matt Webb, Cooper Bowlin, David Shelquist, Zach Boggess, Gavin Midas and Riley Allgood.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be left at www.ankenyfuneralhome.com for Marilyn’s family.

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