Marion Bucky A Parsons Keating

Marion Augusta Parsons Keating was born to Frank and Nora (Coe) Parsons. Marion was the great granddaughter and namesake of Santa Fe Trail pioneer, Marion Russell. She was born on her father’s cattle ranch (Parsons Land and Cattle Company) and raised as the 2nd of 5 children. She was preceded in death by her baby sister, Shirley, in 1986. In 2007 her oldest sister Myrtle Anne passed. Then in early 2010 her sister Winifred (Dee Dee) died. She is survived by her 92 year old brother, Robert Parsons.

Marion loved her childhood growing up as a cowgirl. She herded, branded, vaccinated, and castrated the cattle. She developed an interest in the nitty gritty of tending to animals. That interest, along with the home grown nursing skills she got from her mother, rubbed off on her future children. She loved the home ranch and her beloved Whiskey Creek, which her father purchased as a refuge for her hay fever.

Marion was considered the academic in her family. Her schooling was mainly in Trinidad where she ended up serving as valedictorian of her Trinidad High School graduating class. After that, with the help of her uncle’s money, she attended University of Colorado in Boulder for 3 years. She knew Byron “Whizzer” White (later Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and CU football legend); and her class voted for the buffalo as the mascot for CU. While there she met an incredibly handsome young man, Thomas R. Keating, from Red Cliff, a small mining town, high up in the Rockies. They fell in love and married, neither finishing their degrees.

Marion and Tom lived in Colorado…Red Cliff and Pueblo for the 1st years of their marriage. They had their first child in Colorado, Thomas Richard. . Due to a job in California, they moved. In California they had three more boys, Gary Frank, Patrick Dennis and Keith Marion. Job change called them to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1948. Soon they had the 1st of three girls, Peggy Kathleen. Three years later Janice Anne was born. And the last baby was born four years later: Kathryn Colleen. When Marion was asked if they were Catholics or Mormon, she replied that they were just passionate Protestants. They raised the 7 children in Phoenix, and when Kathy was in grade school, Marion returned to college, getting both her Bachelors and Masters in Education from Arizona State University. She taught 2nd grade at Holiday Park School for 15 years before retiring.

In her retirement, she and Tom traveled, never far from the Rocky Mountain streams for his fly fishing. They also were swiftly accruing grandchildren. By 1992, Tom’s health had started to deteriorate and Marion spent the next 5 years being his caretaker. He passed in 1997, after they had celebrated their 60th anniversary.

By 2000, Marion sold their home and moved to Glendale, Arizona. She made many friends and loved her worship and Bible Study at Glendale Christian Church. However, one more move was in store for her as she joined her daughter and son-in-law, Janice and Peter Baker, moving to Castle Rock, Colorado.

The move to Colorado brought her full circle with her childhood. She enjoyed one full year with her sister, Myrtle, and at least twice a year visits to the ranch where she would see her brother, Bob. She visited the CU campus where she met Tom, and rekindled a Red Cliff friendship with Bernice Tibbet. She loved the snow and the changing weather. Anyone who met her, quickly knew her politics. She was an avid reader of non-fiction, politics and biographies. Marion quickly adapted back to being a Colorado girl, a pioneer. Many of her memories have been captured for all time.

Marion’s legacy will live on. With her 7 children, she had 19 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. Of the grandchildren, 16 have Bachelor’s, 9 Masters, 2 have Doctorate’s and 2 are medical doctors(total 29 degrees). Among these grandchildren there are 2 nurses, playwright, businessmen, production assistant,bio- medical engineer, opera house manager, missionaries, teacher, college professors, pediatric geneticist, pediatrician, international lawyer, and more finishing. But more importantly, they are each wonderful, constructive citizens who are improving and impacting the world for good. Marion and Tom nurtured values of hard work and the need for higher education. Not one of the children had a free ride. Those values have been and are being perpetuated among the new generation.

Marion's legacy as a pioneer was great; her legacy now and in the future is even greater.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to: Wycliffe Bible Translators P.O. Box 62811 Orlando, FL 32862-8211 or

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children 2222 Welborn St. Dallas, TX 75204 or

Denver Children's Hospital Foundation 13123 E. 16th Ave. Box 045 Aurora, CO 80045