Marilyn Ruth Johnson Powers Renberg Wood

Jesus was Mari’s first love. In 1972, she went to see Rez Band thinking she was going to a hippie concert. That night, she asked Jesus into her heart, and it changed the course of her life. Over the years, Mari was part of City First, Faith Center, and Northeast Christian Church and led many women’s groups. What she loved most was introducing people to Jesus and helping them find a place to belong in the church.

If you ever asked Mari how she was doing, you probably remember her answer. “I’m too blessed to be stressed!” She loved saying hello, shaking hands, and striking up a conversation with just about anybody. She had a way of making people feel seen. And if she saw someone who needed a hand, she wanted to help.

When Mari accepted Christ, she stopped using alcohol and drugs and remained sober for the rest of her life. Her faith and her own experience with addiction gave her a heart for people seeking recovery. Helping them became her life’s work. Whenever someone she had counseled shared how far they’d come or thanked her for being there, it brought her to tears. She really appreciated when someone came back or wrote her a note to thank her.

Of all her accomplishments, Mari was especially proud of her college degree. At 16, her parents asked her to leave high school to help support the family. She earned her GED around age 30, started college at 45, and graduated from Beloit College with a Bachelor of Science degree at 50. She became a professional counselor, helping people in recovery and advocating for children whose parents were struggling with addiction. She also volunteered with Celebrate Recovery and continued counseling until she retired at 70.

Mari had a creative streak that went right along with her hippie days. She played the autoharp, painted, made crafts, and cross-stitched. She had a soft spot for dogs and cats. Her family remembers camping trips together and Sundays at Grandpa and Grandma’s house, where there was always food, laughter, and music.

Mari was diagnosed with dementia in 2016. For years, the changes came gradually, and in her final months they came much faster. Through it all, Mari held on to her belief that Jesus would heal her. In her final days, her grandchildren gathered to tell her they loved her. Her daughters whispered in her ear that she was beautiful, that she had been a wonderful mom, and that she had done a good job. When goodbye felt too hard to say, her family found gentler words in “Until we meet again.”

Mari is survived by her twin sister, Margie (Mark), her daughters, Vicki (Mike) and Renée (Paul), and her grandchildren, Tim (Sam), Jeremy (Bri), Robert (Sanci), and Melody. She is also survived by three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Gus and Gladys, her brothers, Curly, Ralph, and Bill, and her sisters, Dee and Shirley.

A visitation for Mari will take place Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 12:00 PM until the time of her funeral at 1:00 PM. Memorial gifts may be made to Northern Illinois Hospice in memory of Marilyn Wood.