Maxine Winifred Weece

Chapter One of a truly extraordinary life began on May 25, 1921, when Maxine was born to Edgar Jasper Fuller and Ida Alma Fuller (Garrett) in Smith Center, Kansas, the second eldest of four children. She joined her older sister, Ilene, and later, her brother, Vinton and sister, Sherry, were born, completing their family.

The family lived on a farm in Franklin, Nebraska, and life during those “Dust Bowl” years was filled with hardship and challenge. The hardships drew the family together, and that enduring commitment to, and love for one another marked them as a family and became part of the legacy that continues to this day.

Even as small children, Maxine and her siblings shared in the farming responsibilities, developing a strong work ethic and the important character qualities of compassion, grit, generosity, honesty and selflessness, among many others, that would mark them throughout their lives.

In 1937, seeking a new beginning, the family moved to Oregon with little money but a lot of determination. They rented a diner, and Maxine worked every day from 9:00 am to 1:00 am as a waitress, also working in the kitchen with her mother. Later, Ed and Alma purchased a grocery store in Pleasant Home, Oregon, which would prove to be a very significant part of Maxine’s life.

In 1939, Maxine met Ernest Weece at a ballroom dance. He was the date of her friend. That relationship eventually ended, and Maxine and Ernest met again on January 1, 1941 at the same ballroom. Neither Maxine nor Ernest were involved in a relationship with others by then, and the romance quickly blossomed.

In February of that year, a smitten Ernest proposed to Maxine, and they married August 1, 1941. A variety of jobs and locations followed, but in April 1944, Ernest was called to serve in World War II. Maxine eventually moved back to Pleasant Home, where she began to manage the family grocery store. When Ernest was honorably discharged from the Army in May 1946, he also returned to his beloved wife in Pleasant Home, and joined in the family business.

To their delight, two children, Janice and Randy, followed, and the happy family grew and thrived through the following years.

Maxine and Ernest eventually became the sole owners of Weece’s Market, which still bears that name. They sold the successful business and adjoining house in 1973.

Maxine’s “retirement” was anything but! She and Ernest traveled some, and enjoyed visiting relatives and friends around the United States. They walked miles and miles, and found many ways to serve family and friends.

When Ernest passed in August 1984, a few days after their 43rd anniversary, Maxine didn’t slow down a bit. She served at least two days a week for many years at SnowCap Community Charities, and usually walked a mile to and from her volunteer stint. After returning home, Maxine would frequently work in her yard, which she loved, or go for a along walk. If she needed groceries, she would walk to and from the store whenever possible. She also loved playing Scrabble, doing crossword puzzles and writing poems.

During these years, Maxine also volunteered extensively at her church, Parklane Christian Reformed Church. She looked forward to distributing hundreds of flyers advertising the church’s summer Vacation Bible School, and also often served in the kitchen.

Family was Maxine’s great passion, and that love and passion extended to her nieces, nephews, and, of course, to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Affectionately known as “Gigi,” she felt blessed to be able to watch three of her grandsons, Dave, Doug and Dean Marleau, grow up in the Gresham area, and also looked forward to visiting her granddaughter, Angela Weece and other grandson, Reggie Weece, who shared her birthday, whenever possible.

Maxine made countless afghan blankets for family and friends. She was a very accomplished seamstress, tailoring suits for Ernest, her son-in-law, Jim Marleau, and Randy. Maxine also sewed many dresses, skirts and blouses for Jan. She also loved to cook, and would look for fruit and vegetables she could find at a bargain, and did extensive canning.

While Maxine was frugal, she was an extremely generous person, and many people experienced her kindness and loving support

There were a number of hard times in Maxine’s life. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1969, and though, as she learned later, the cancer had spread considerably. She credited the prayers of her family and friends and the goodness of God that she never had a recurrence.

Her heart gave her trouble for years, not that anyone would know that based on her activity and energy level. After celebrating her 90th birthday, a joyous occasion with family and friends, a serious defect of two heart valves was detected. Maxine’s quality of life was being impacted by this issue, and she eventually decided to have surgery to replace the valves. In the work that needed to precede the surgery, Maxine suffered a stroke, and life for her changed dramatically.

It became necessary for her to leave the home she loved and to move to an adult foster care home. There, she received such loving and excellent care from Ana and Florian Pasc. Though her pace was significantly lower, she continued to walk through the surrounding neighborhood as long as she could. Her mind remained sharp, but her ability to verbally express what she was trying to communicate was a source of great frustration to her.

During her last years, Maxine was so grateful for the loving and kind attention and care provided by her family. Her daughter, Jan, made countless trips between her home in Dallas, Oregon, often accompanied by her husband, Jim, to visit Maxine and to take her to various appointments. Her beloved grandsons, Dave, Doug and Dean, and their wives, Rebecca, Tracy and Christine, visited her regularly, and enlivened her life with their love and humor, knowing that their Grandma could dish the humor right back at them.

Chapter One of Maxine’s life concluded on April 17, 2018, when her tired heart finally gave out. At that exact moment, Chapter Two began, as Maxine embraced a new life with a new body for all eternity, in the presence of loved ones who went before her and her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Maxine possessed a strong faith through most of her life. Gradually, however, she came to realize more and more that all of her good deeds, and there were so many, and her morality and integrity, while pleasing to God, were never going to be sufficient to earn her a place in Heaven. She gratefully received the payment that Jesus Christ made on the cross that first Good Friday so that she could be with Him forever.

Maxine was preceded in death by many family and friends, including her parents, her loving husband, Ernest, sister Ilene Denbo, brother Vinton Fuller, brothers-in-law George Finck, Leonard Denbo and Chuck Shaffer, and sister-in-law Jean Fuller. She is survived by her sister, Sherry Shaffer, of St. Helens, Oregon, her daughter, Jan Marleau (Jim), of Dallas, Oregon, son, Randy Weece (Susan), of Schaumburg, Illinois, her wonderful grandchildren, David Marleau (Rebecca), of Fairview, Oregon, Douglas Marleau (Tracy), of Happy Valley, Oregon, Dean Marleau (Christine), of Damascus, Oregon,, Angela Weece, of Gurnee, Illinois, Reggie Weece (Emily), of Northbrook, Illinois, and great grandchildren, Peyton, Malina, Colton, Kendall and Nicole Marleau, and Ella, Ruby and Simon Weece. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, whom she dearly loved.

A service celebrating Maxine’s life will be held Wednesday, April 25, at 2:00pm, at Parklane Christian Reformed Church, 16001 SE Main Street, Portland, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to SnowCap Community Charities or the American Cancer Society.