Marcia Siskey Ezell Kaser

Marcia Siskey Ezell Kaser, 87, devoted mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away on November 15, 2025, surrounded by her family, after a brief illness. A lifelong resident of Central California, Marcia was born on June 6, 1938, in Exeter, California. After attending Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, she graduated from College of Sequoias and California State University-Fresno with a degree in education. Marcia knew very young that she wanted to be a teacher, and she worked for more than 32 years in Central Unified School District as an elementary school teacher, and volunteered in classrooms for many years after her retirement. She never forgot a student, and frequently introduced herself to strangers with the question, "weren't you in my first grade class?" For many, the answer was yes, and she was thrilled to then hear of the successes former students had achieved. It was one of her greatest honors that she had had the opportunity to teach so many children how to read.

Outside of the classroom, Marcia felt most at home in the mountains. From her pack trip to Mount Whitney as a teenager, to camping every weekend with her young family in the Sierra National Forest, to day hikes in Sequioa and Kings Canyon, to cross country skiing well into her 70s, to time spent in Shaver Lake, the Sierra Nevada mountains were part of her identity. She once said that "trailhead" was her favorite word.

Marcia was a storyteller and a talker; she found conversation and connection everywhere she went, with everyone she met, whether down the street or in her travels across the US, Europe and China. She loved crossword puzzles and sudoku, astronomy, classic cars, Dixieland jazz festivals, the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, the Rose Parade, and designer showcase home and garden tours. She was smart and funny and quirky, and never at a loss for words. Most of all, she was the center of our family; the glue that held us together and kept us connected.

Marcia is survived by daughter Jennifer Ezell and her fiancé Dave Dedmore of Fresno, California, and daughter Karyn Ezell of Beverly Hills, California; granddaughter Lily Lewis and her wife Adrienne of Portland, Oregon; sister Marilyn Cumiford of Redding, California, brother Frank Siskey and his wife Connie of Clovis, California, brother Stan Siskey and his wife Linda of Grover Beach, California, several nieces and nephews, dozens of cousins, and innumerable friends. Marcia was preceded in death by her two former husbands, Ray L. Ezell, Jr. and Glen John Kaser.

A graveside burial service will be held on December 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at Belmont Memorial Park in Fresno, California, and a celebration of Marcia's life will be held in February 2026. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marcia's memory to Sierra Foothill Conservancy.