Marian Pettus

Marian was born October 10, 1932, in Terre Haute, Indiana, the youngest of four children of Armine Thomas Pettus and Julia Frances (Hammond) Pettus. She grew up in the midst of the Great Depression in a large, close-knit family that leaned on one another to get by, and she learned early what it meant to work hard and take care of the people around her. She left school as a teenager but never stopped learning, and being sharp, resourceful, and endlessly determined, qualities that would define the rest of her life.

Marian built a remarkable career at a time when few women were given that chance. She worked her way from a soda counter and a factory floor into the offices of Terre Haute city government, where she was appointed Superintendent of City Cemeteries, the first woman to hold that position in the city's history. She went on to earn her real estate broker's license and developed a residential community in Terre Haute before moving into banking, where she rose to vice president of Indiana State Bank, becoming the first woman in Indiana to hold a position that senior at a bank of that size and standing. Along the way, she also started her own advertising agency and real estate appraisal business. She worked at the bank until 1994.

She was her family's biggest champion, pushing the people she loved to bet on themselves and never settle for less than they were capable of. She was known to many close to her as "Mimi."

Marian was full of life, generous, loyal, and entirely her own person. She believed, as she said, that "there's no such thing as a self-made man; there's someone who comes along and puts their hand on your shoulder and helps you along," and she spent much of her life being exactly that person for others.

She is survived by her daughter, Joni Gilmore of Noblesville; her step-daughter Donna Daniels and her husband, Dennis; her grandson, Evan Gilmore and his wife, Megan; her step-grandson, Scott Gilmore and his wife Petra; and several great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Armine and Julia Pettus; her husband, Donald Bowen; her siblings, Edward Pettus, Geraldine Trueman, and Richard Pettus; her son-in-law, Andy Gilmore; and her step-granddaughter, Jennifer French.

A gathering will be held in the Sycamore Room at the Roselawn Funeral Home in Terre Haute on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. The memorial service will begin at 2:00 p.m.