Date of Birth:
Thursday, October 8, 1936
Date of Death:
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Age:
85 years old

Marlene Marquette

Marlene MARQUETTE, 85, died peacefully Sunday morning, February 20 at her Bamber Valley, southwest Rochester home, surrounded by Children, Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren. Marlene was preceded in death by her husband Lawrence “Butch” in 2012.

She is survived by her seven children: Morris of West Concord, his spouse Jane (Rendler); Jacqueline “Jackie” of Rochester, her spouse Richard “Rich” Rundquist; Nancy of Albuquerque, her spouse Martin “Marty” Hatfield; Steven “Steve” of Lake Worth, Florida, his partner Roselle Santos; Suzanne of Boca Raton, her spouse Jack Yellen; John of Miami, his spouse Fedline Ferjuste; David and his spouse Gilbert “Gil” Hernandez of Visalia, California; and nephew Mark of Melbourne, Florida.

Grandchildren include: Danielle Rundquist of Rochester, and Marlene’s great-grandchildren Alexander “Xander” and Estella; Brandon Rundquist of Arvada, Colorado, his spouse Jackie (Spencer) and great-granddaughter Cadence; Jacob Marquette of Waseca, his spouse Chasity (Haslip) and great-grandchildren Aiden and Eli; and Rory Yellen of Rochester.

Marlene Ann Dickey was born on October 8, 1936, in Faribault, the only child of Donald “Don” Dickey, a city Police Officer, and Adeline (Tupy), a Pharmacist’s Assistant. She attended the Sisters of Dominican’s Immaculate Conception Elementary School and was a finalist in the state’s Spelling Bee. Graduating Central High School in 1954, she was accepted to Mankato State College (now Minnesota State University, Mankato). Before college, while working at Josten’s in Owatonna, she met Butch and fell in love. They wed in 1955 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, West Concord.

With a budding family in Ellington Township, rural northwest Dodge County, they grew their family farm. In 1968, Butch started a grain bin construction business with Marlene managing the financials. Both businesses continue today: Morris and Jane farming with Jackie and Rich at the grain bin business in Byron, now Kasson.

Marlene Chaired the Education Committee of St.  Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish from 1979 to 1983. She was a leader in Ellington Township’s 4-H chapter. Marlene was a delegate to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party’s 1980 State Convention in St. Paul, and served on the Dodge County Development Activity Center’s Board of Directors through 1984, a non-profit community mental health provider.

With Butch, she cherished their volunteer work at the Blackfeet Nation Indian Reservation in Montana and administering medicine to orphans at the Franciscan’s Flores Mission in Honduras.

As a teenager, Marlene worked the box office at the downtown Paradise Theater inspiring her life-long love of the silver screen. While babysitting for a wealthy family, she marveled at their paintings by Grant Wood, famous for his iconic 1930 work “American Gothic.” Becoming her favorite artist, for Marlene’s 70^th birthday, she toured Wood’s studio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Dressed in suit-and-tie that Saturday night, Butch was her surprise dinner date at the Figge Art Museum in nearby Davenport.

Beyond travels to Venezuela and France, Marlene’s trips in Butch’s RV spanned the 5,000 miles from Alaska to Miami. On multiple occasions they visited Plains, Georgia, attending the Marantha Baptist Church with former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn.

“Marlenka” (Marlene) and Butch visited Bohemia, her ancestral homeland in the Czech Republic and Butch’s in Marquardt, outside Berlin in eastern Germany, where they befriended locals at the Landgasthof tavern that Butch mused could be his long-lost cousins! Marlene had an Audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome, 2005; in 1979 she attended that Pope’s outdoor mass in Des Moines.

In her last years, Marlene was fortunate to stay in her cherished home with devoted grandchildren: Danielle as lead caregiver and health advocate; and Rory aiding while attending Winona State University.  His cat Truman gave Marlene much comfort in her last days, after her loving cats Pierre, Chloe and Flower had died. Marlene was never alone, never without love.

Marlene was always a joy at get-togethers with thoughtful conversation and wonderful humor.  She loved music, from Tom Jones’ rock, Andrea Bocelli’s operas, the Bee Gees’ disco to Willy Nelson’s country. She enjoyed meeting new people, engaging in conversation.  Her joy of life was infectious; just two weeks ago she dined with family at her new favorite (replacing Chester’s Kitchen at the Galleria) Four Daughters Vineyard near Spring Valley.

Goodbye, goodbye Marlene Ann Dickey, goodbye Marlene Marquette, goodbye Grandma, goodbye Mom, for there will never be another like you.

A private service will be held and interment will be in St.  Margaret’s Catholic Cemetery, Cemetery Road, Mantorville, Minnesota, at a later date.

DONATION IN MEMORIAM: Mercy Ships donate.mercyships.org/

The Wild Animal Sanctuary, Colorado www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/donate