Marian Eleanor Bartlett

GEDCOM Note

GEDCOM Note

The 16 December 2008 issue of the Madison [Lake County, South Dakota] Daily Leader carried the following obituary:

Marion Eleanor Bartlett Parsons died on Dec. 12, 2008, at her home in Anaheim, Calif.

Burial will be Thursday morning at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif.

The Hilgenfeld Mortuary, 120 E. Broadway, Anaheim, Calif., is in charge of arrangements.

Marian Bartlett was born on June 1, 1917, in Tracy, Minn., to Clarence Emory and Ethel Shephard Bartlett. The family moved to Madison when she was four. She attended school in Madison. Following high school, she attended Eastern Normal School and graduated with a degree in teaching from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. She taught business and drama. She married Rodney Thomas Parsons in 1941 and they went to Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, Ga., where he was an Army officer. In 1943, he joined the fighting forces in Europe as a part of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" and served until 1945, when he returned to South Dakota. They moved to Anaheim, Calif., in 1948. She taught high school business classes for 15 years. Her husband died in 1981.

She was very active on many boards and in many organizations.

Survivors include two sons Jim (Yvonne) of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Ken (Chella) Parsons of Temecula; three grandchildren; and a nephew.

GEDCOM Note

MARIAN PARSONS OBITUARY

Parsons, Marian Eleanor Bartlett, a significant figure in many of Anaheim's community based philanthropic organizations, died peacefully at her home on Janss Way on December 12. She was 91 years young. Born on June 1, 1917, in Tracy, Minnesota, the daughter of Clarence Emory [sic, Emery] and Ethel Shephard [sic, Shepard] Bartlett. The family moved to Madison, South Dakota, when she was just 4 years old. Marian grew up with her sisters, Margaret Bartlett and Mae Bartlett Van Buren during the depression that shaped her and her family and friends lives and became a part of what Tom Brokaw, another South Dakotan, called "The Greatest Generation".

She was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, Rodney Thomas Parsons of Redfield, South Dakota. Both Marian and her husband Rod were graduates of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. During World War II, Rod was a Major in the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles." Because of his war injuries, the doctors suggested they move to a better climate and in 1948 they moved to Anaheim.

For fifteen years in the late 60's and 70's, Marian was a teacher at Marywood Catholic High School where she taught business classes. After her husband Rod's death in 1981, Marian immersed herself in the Anaheim charities and clubs that became so meaningful to her in her later years and which brought her lifelong friends whom she cherished to the day she died. She was on the boards of the Assistance League of Anaheim. Anaheim Memorial Hospital Guardian Angels, Ebell Club of Anaheim, Orange County Performing Arts Center Arturo Toscanini Chapter, the Pacific Symphony Harp Guild and the PEO Anaheim Chapter BP, among others. She served as President of the Assistance League of Anaheim from 1986-1987 and President of the Anaheim Memorial Hospital Guardian Angels from 1996-1999.

Marian was also a direct descendant of Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence [sic] and as such was a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Marian took great comfort in her faith and she and her sons attended the First Presbyterian Church of Anaheim, where she served as a Deacon and was in later years a member of the Elizabeth Circle.

Marian Parsons is survived by her beloved sons, Jim and Ken and their families, Ken Parsons of Temecula, who is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; his wife, Chella and their two sons, Patrick, a senior at Sonoma State University, and Kyle, a senior at Temecula High School, and James Parsons of Santa Barbara, a business consultant; his wife, Yvonne and daughter, Chloe, a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her nephew, Paul B. Van Buren of Los Altos.

Viewing will be held at Hilgenfeld Mortuary at 120 E. Broadway, Anaheim, from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17. Graveside service will be held at Riverside National Cemetery at 10;45 a.m. on Thursday, December 18. Hilgenfeld Mortuary

Published in Orange County Register on Dec. 17, 2008