Marion J. MARTIN

MARTIN, SWEENEY, VAN GORDON, CLARKE

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/23/2010 at 20:16:10

August 31, 2003
Mason City Globe Gazette, Iowa

BELMOND, Iowa — Marion J. Martin, age 64, of Belmond passed away Friday (August 29, 2003) at her home in Belmond. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Belmond. Father David Beckman and Deacon Nick Schmit will be officiating. Burial will be in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery, Belmond. Visitation will be Tuesday, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home, 516 1st Street S.E., Belmond, and will ontinue on Wednesday one hour prior to the service at the church. There will be a rosary/prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. The family suggests memorials be made to the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church or to the Talbot Belmond Public Library-Marion Martin Children's Fund.

Marion was born June 29, 1939, in Indianapolis, Ind., he daughter of Albert E. and Dorothy (Sweeney) Martin. Because cerebral palsy required special education, Marion attended St. Mary's School in Nauvoo, I11., Franklin Special Education School, in Ames, Iowa, and St. Mary's Providence School, in Chicago, Illinois. Always wanting to learn, she continued working towards her high school equivalency classes in Belmond. Marion took pride in her various employment opportunities. She worked at Mary Greeley Medical Center and the children's Head Start program in Ames, Iowa, and at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Belmond. She shared her time and abilities in a variety of volunteer activities, including assisting children at the Belmond Library and swimming pool, helping at the Belmond Health Care Center, working for Hospice, participating in Walk for the Cure, and volunteering in various roles at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, where she was active in the Catholic Daughters of Americas and the St. Francis Xavier Rosary Society. Marion's interests included traveling abroad on a number of tours with her parents and participating in local trips with her family and friends. Her photo albums recording these places and events were shared with many. Her church groups and afternoon gatherings at the Leinbach Center gave her special pleasure. She also enjoyed reading, embroidery, playing cards, and tending her flowers. The support and encouragement of her parents and caring friends — and of the Belmond community generally — made it possible for Marion to have her own apartment and to independently participate in a great many Belmond area activities.

Marion is survived by her father, Albert E. Martin, Belmond; her two sisters and their spouses; Jane and Schuyler Van Gordon, Eau Claire, Wis., and Linda and Wade Clarke, Moline, Ill; her sister-in-law Sharon Martin, Mazeppa, Minn.; eight nieces and nephews and three great nieces and nephews. Marion was preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy, in November 2002, and brother, James. Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond.