Our beloved mother, Marsha Lee Dick, 65, of Pendleton, Oregon, passed away peacefully on April 21, 2017 with her family next to her.
Marsha Lee (Snider) Dick was born to Helen and Lee Snider on November 11, 1951 in Bend, Oregon. She spent the first years of her life in a small logging town called Gilchrist in Central Oregon. She always thought of it as God's Country since it was perfect in so many ways. She moved to the "big city" of Bend, Oregon when she was 10 years old with her mother and sister, Jane Marie (Snider) Sohn. Bend is where her girls were born, Sonia, Tracy and Kimberly.
In 1977 Marsha and her girls moved to Juneau, Alaska to be closer to her mother, Helen and sister, Jane. It was a move that lasted a life time for Marsha; she fell in love with Alaska and lived there for 38 years. Here she met and married the one man she had been searching for Dennis Dick. In 1990 they moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, Dennis was the soul mate in all the ways that mattered to her. It was in Fairbanks she decided that she wanted to go back to school and took computer business and graduated at the top of her class as Valedictorian in 1996. It was a major accomplishment for her and one that gave her and her family much pride.
She worked at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home starting in 2000, here she met her best friend and boss Vickie Wilson. Vickie was a friend to the end and someone that although she may never have known, a source of inspiration and courage for Marsha over the years. She often said having Vickie share her lunch off the same plate was more special than getting a diamond.
In 2008 Marsha took a position at the Office of Children Services and there she met some very wonderful friends. Marsha retired from the State of Alaska in 2015 due to health reasons and relocated to Pendleton, Oregon to be near the necessary health care provider's she needed and to be closer to two of her daughters Sonia and Kimberly. Her girls became a strong source of care and were at her side to the end.
Marsha is survived by her husband Dennis, her daughter's Sonia (James) Smith of Pilot Rock, Oregon, Tracy (Ryan) Davis of Juneau, Alaska and Kimberly (Todd) Niemi of Pendleton, Oregon. Grandchildren, Codey Rogers, Kendal Rogers, Ruby Davis, Kaylee Niemi and Travis Niemi, her sister, Jane Sohn of Juneau, Alaska and her nephew Jeffrey Siler, her nieces Rian Siler and Cora Sohn along with many other family members and friends.
Marsha is preceded in death by her Mother Helen, Father Lee and her beloved son Fred Hertzig.
No services are planned per Marsha's wishes, in lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to any animal shelter of your choice as Marsha was an avid lover of animals. Rest in Peace you will be very much missed!
Published in The Juneau Empire from Sept. 13 to Oct. 12, 2017
