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Marlys Joanne Thurow
1936 - 2025
BORN
1936
DIED
2025
UPCOMING SERVICE
Marlys Thurow Obituary
November 30, 1936 - June 18, 2025
Marlys Joanne (Thompson) Thurow was born November 30, 1936, to Delvin and Irene (Scharnhorst) Thompson. She died at home in Portland, OR, June 18, 2025.
Marlys attended Elementary and High School in Ramona, South Dakota. In 1954 she enrolled at GBSTC (now Dakota State University) in Madison.
She married high school classmate Kenneth Thurow August 5, 1956. The couple raised three children: Kathy Lynne (1958); Karen Leigh (1961); and Mark Jonathan (1965). Marlys completed her Bachelor's Degree at Dakota State in 1972, and her Master's in Special Education at Northern State University (Aberdeen, SD) in 1980. She taught in South Dakota, Illinois, and Colorado.
From 1963 to 1990 the family lived at Kadoka, Wessington Springs, and Aberdeen. In 1990 Ken and Marlys moved to Boulder, CO. In 2023 they moved to Portland, OR.
Marlys liked people, and had an unwavering commitment to justice and to healthy human relationships. In Aberdeen she taught ESL to refugees and became friends with many. A prized possession was a pair of porcupine quill earrings purchased from First Nations activist Annie Mae Aquash during the American Indian Movement presence in Aberdeen in 1974.
Marlys loved art, music, and travel. She loved making beautiful quilts, some being displayed at her memorial service at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Portland. In Boulder she became a strong age-group runner, completing 26 consecutive years of the Bolder Boulder 10km (6.2 mile) Memorial Day race, always in the top 10 of women her age. She also became a certified track and field official.
She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Thurow of Portland; three children, Kathy Thurow of Portland, Karen Thurow of Denver, and Mark Thurow of Portland; by six grandchildren, Emilio Dodier-Thurow of Denver; Ingry Thurow of Portland; Ramona, Laura, and Peter Shober of Portland; and Cleo Lockhart of Portland; and by two sisters: Marilyn (Roger) Matson of Ramona, SD, and Cheryl (Richard) Tibke of Ft. Myers, FL.
A brief service and interment of ashes will be held September 11, 11:00 a. m., at St. John Lutheran Church, Ramona.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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