Marlene Kay Marshall

1952 - 2025

Marlene Kay Marshall

July 10, 1952 - October 17, 2025

Marlene Kay Marshall, 73, passed away peacefully on Oct 17, 2025, in Lincoln NE after a 3-year journey with dementia. Up until the end, Marlene maintained her kindness, faith, grace, compassion, love of family and friends, and expressed gratitude for her life, full of wonderful experiences.

Born on July 10, 1952, she was a devoted wife to Lorry and loving mother to 3 daughters. In the last 3 years, she spent 18 months of that living with her middle daughter, Sadie (Paul) Hagemeier where they provided her the best care & love.

Marlene spent her early years in Elm Creek NE on the farm with her loving family, Clarence & Mary Lou Taylor and 4 brothers, Randy, Gary, Kenny and Kyle Taylor. After High School, Marlene attended airline school in KC to become a flight attendant and after completion of that, she moved back to Elm Creek where she met up with a rodeo cowboy who was also her high school sweetheart, Lorry Marshall. They married a year later on December 24, 1971, making 53 years of marriage. Marlene & Lorry have 3 daughters, Heather, Sadie and Cami. Marlene worked at Becton Dickinson (B & D) early on in their marriage as they were starting their family. Marlene was an exceptional cook for family and friends and also spent the Nebraska summers planting gardens and canning corn for the winter. Her constant smile & calm presence was truly a gift to her family. In her late 40's, she became a grandparent and that was one of her favorite roles! She was active in helping out, especially in the early years and had the best of times with 4 amazing grandchildren, Madison, Skylar, Cole and Jax. She loved reading books to them, baking their favorite brownies, playing board games and taking them to the river to explore the outdoors.

The family moved to Sargent NE back in the summer of 1978 where they spent a majority of their time raising the girls. Marlene was a livestock office clerk at the local Sargent Livestock & Auction. She loved spending time with friends and especially playing cards with them on the weekends. She later joined Sargent Public Schools as a special education teaching assistant for many years where she enjoyed making a difference in our youth. She spent a lot of time watching all of the athletic events the girls played. After the girls were raised, Lorry and Marlene moved to Hastings NE for some time before building a home back in their hometown of Elm Creek. She finished out her working career at Elm Creek Country Clinic as an administrative assistant. She enjoyed being closer to the Taylor side of the family as well as the Marshall side. Marlene loved spending time with all her nieces and nephews during the holidays. She kept deep friendships all along the way including her high school besties. Some of her other experiences were traveling to the Black Hills of South Dakota, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas for the NFR (National Rodeo Finals), Georgia and Texas. Marlene loved listening to music and watching the sunsets.

Those who know Marlene will remember her for her infectious smile and deep rooted faith in Jesus. Her unwavering devotion to spreading love and kindness along with her hilarious sense of humor will be deeply missed. She has made a lasting impact on all her family and friends who crossed her path.

Marlene is survived by her husband, Lorry Marshall of Elm Creek NE; daughters, Heather Anthony (Tim) of Tyler TX, Sadie Hagemeier (Paul) and Cami Buel (Scott) all of Eagle NE; brothers, Randy Taylor, Kenny Taylor (Heather) and Kyle Taylor (Joie) all of Elm Creek NE and Gary Taylor of Alma, NE; grandchildren, Madison Anthony of Dallas TX, Skylar Anthony of College Station TX, Cole Buel & Jax Buel of Eagle NE; brother-in-law, Roger Marshall of Wood River, NE; sister-in-law, Cheryl & (Lyle) Stone of Wilmington OH; and 15 nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death are parents, Clarence Taylor and Mary Lou (Reiter) Taylor; her brother-in-law, Scott Marshall; sister-in-law, Connie Stapleton; sister-in-law, Carol Taylor as well as various aunts & uncles.

Her passing has left many heavy hearts but we'll remember her in celebration of the way she lived. She has prepared well for her eternal life with Jesus. Marlene had a Christ like character who touched so many lives.

The Celebration of Life service to honor the life of Marlene Kay Marshall will be held on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025, at 1pm so that all the grandchildren can be present - O'Brien-Straatmann-Redinger Funeral Home in Kearney NE.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the family for future designation. Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O'Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services.