Marilyn Marcellus

Marilyn (Lindhart) Marcellus passed away Saturday, January 16, 2016, at St. Joseph's Medical Center, in Brainerd, Minnesota after a short battle with cancer. Per Marilyn's request, there will be no funeral services, rather, there will be a celebration of her life with family and friends this summer and her ashes will be scattered at that time.

Marilyn was born December 23, 1940, in Ottumwa, Iowa. She was raised in Humboldt, Iowa, by her parents, Elmer and Ruth Lindhart, and graduated from Humboldt High School in 1958. In 1960, she married Duane Marcellus, also of Humboldt, Iowa.
She graduated from Iowa State University in 1962 with a degree in Home Economics and various minors. While attending ISU, she was a cheerleader for her husband's football team and other ISU teams.

After graduation, Marilyn was a teacher in various locations (Montezuma, Iowa; Whittier, California; and then back to Iowa). In 1974, after several years of teaching, she went back to school to earn a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Northern Iowa. She then started a special education program at the Humboldt schools she attended as a child. After her retirement in 1996, after living in Pocahontas, Iowa, for 26 years, Marilyn and Duane moved full time to their home on Blackwater Lake in Longville, Minnesota. There she could finally pursue her passions - sewing (she made beautiful American Girl Doll custom clothing), golfing, gardening, fishing and cooking.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Duane Marcellus; her children, Jennifer (Marcellus) Koithan, and her husband Jim, of Houston, Texas, Jeffrey Marcellus, of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota and Jodi Marcellus of Houston; her grandchildren, Kylie and Cameron Koithan of Houston; and her brother, Robert Lindhart of Arizona. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Ruth Lindhart.

Marilyn's creativity, intellect and sense of humor will be missed. If you wish to honor her memory, a donation to an animal shelter in her name would make her very happy.