Marilyn G. Parker (Mary) was born October 27, 1926, in Santa Monica, CA to Harmon and Edna (Farling) Skiles. She has one sister Phyllis Nichols who resides in Kendallville and a deceased brother, Thomas Skiles.

In 1948, she married Robert C. (Bud) Parker who preceded her in death May 26, 1996. They had six children: Cynthia G. Jollief (Jack), J. Ned Parker (Sherry), Susan M. Parker, Sara P. Ley (Mike), Nathan R. Parker (Diana), and Emily J. Lesica (Robert). Mary has eleven grandchildren and four bonus grandchildren. To date there are fourteen great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

After attending DePauw University for one year in 1944 she attended Gradwohl School of Laboratory Techniques in St. Louis, MO where the school day lasted seven hours per day, five days per week and a half day on Saturdays. It was a great experience, and she loved every minute of it. She interned for one year at Caylor-Nickel Clinic in Bluffton, Indiana before getting certified as a Laboratory Technologist.

Mary's career extended sixty-five years working for several private physicians with most time spent with Dr. Herman Hepner and Dr. Robert Bryan at the Medical Arts Clinic in Kendallville. She had the unique opportunity to work at Kneipp Springs in Rome City, IN for Dr. A. L. Fipp providing laboratory and x-ray services. Following her lengthy service in medical healthcare she had the pleasure of working with Dr. Greg Barnard at Tri-State Veterinary Clinic for an additional thirteen years, retiring at the age of seventy-eight. Mary took pride in her work and loved her patients.

Anyone who knows Mary knows she was an active volunteer for multiple organizations. These include the Red Cross for over fifty years, Immaculate Conception Parish Council and Rosary Sodality, Common Grace Ministries as a board member, and most recently the Windmill Museum where she greeted guests and gave tours of the facility until the end of the 2022 season at the age of 96.

Mary had many hobbies and interests shared with family members and dear friends. She could be found playing a game of dominoes with church friends on any given weekend or an afternoon with her daughter. She had a penchant for Sudoku, crocheting, puzzles, coloring, and a lifetime love for reading. Most people know Mary as an avid card player with her expertise being the game of bridge. She always described it as a fascinating game that provides the opportunity to continually learn. She would enthusiastically share the rerun of the hands she played and would recount bad bids and celebrate the wins. It was one of the many card games she mastered, and she hated missing any opportunity to play. Her love for the game was a motivation that got her involved at the Community Learning Center and she played her final game of bridge on the day of her death. When sharing what she treasured most in her young life it was the times she sang as a duo with her sister Phyllis. Her love for singing was the basis for involvement in numerous choirs throughout college and within her church.

What mattered above all else was her relationship with Jesus. After the first eight years of marriage and attending the Catholic Church with her husband she felt led by the Holy Spirit to quit attending or convert and join the church. She converted to Catholicism and has been a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for 67 years. Her faith was evident in how she lived her life and loved her family and friends.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Young Family Funeral Home, Kendallville Chapel, 222 South State Street Kendallville, IN. The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be recited at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 319 East Diamond Street Kendallville, IN at 11:00 a.m. with one-hour visitation prior to the service. Father J. Steele will be officiating. Pall Bearers will be her grandsons; Joel Jollief, Jayme Jollief, Bill Farrell, Kyle Parker, Seth Boszor, Zachary Sturgis, and Alex Lesica. Honorary pall bearers are Jordan Jollief and Noah Boszor.

Memorial donations may be made to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mid-America Windmill Museum, or Common Grace Ministries.

Burial will be at Lake View Cemetery.

View a video tribute after Tuesday or share memories and condolences at www.youngfamilyfuneralhome.com