Marjorie Lilly

Funeral Services: Will be held on Thursday, June 7, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. at the Greenfield United Methodist Church in Greenfield, Iowa, with burial in the Greenfield Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the church following the services at the cemetery. Pastor Chad Whitmore will officiate the service.  

Open Visitation: Friends may call at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield on Wednesday, June 6th, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

Family Visitation: The family will greet friends on Wednesday evening June 6th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield. 

Memorials: In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Marjorie Lilly memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date.  

Marjorie Louise (McIntire) Lilly was born May 15, 1934 on the family farm six miles North of Stuart, Iowa to Fern Ethel McIntire (Ratliff) and Ralph Burton McIntire. Marjorie stepped into eternity from her home, Wednesday, May 30, 2018.

Marjorie grew up in the Stuart area attending the country school with her sisters in Dale City walking, cycling or sledding over country roads; she also attended one year in Panora and graduated from Stuart High School in 1951. She enjoyed the farm life, especially loved growing up with horses, painted figurines, sewing and quilting throughout her life. Once she graduated Marjorie worked stripping grass and de-tasseling corn. She waited on tables and enjoyed square dancing at the dance hall in Stuart, where she met a fun and ornery young man, Marlan (Mike) Arthur Lilly. After much pursuing and fast driving Marjorie said “yes” to his proposals and married Mike February 26, 1956 at the Methodist Church in Stuart, IA.

After a month of marriage, they moved to Des Moines, IA, where Marjorie worked as a secretary for a doctor and Mike was called to serve in the Army. They then moved to Georgia, where she worked in a bookmobile then to Hawaii, where she enjoyed Hula lessons, making jewelry out of seashells, military friends and the scenery. They loved being in Hawaii. In 1958 they returned to Des Moines where she began working as a secretary at Diamond Laboratory, then worked nights at Central National Bank, and finally for the Department of Agriculture for nearly 35 years until retiring at age 79. She became a Mother of three, March 1, 1959 with Teresa Diane Lilly, then May 22, 1960 with Daryl Alan Lilly, and August 10, 1972 with Shawn Eric Lilly.

Marjorie was high spirited and loved her immediate family as well as her entire broader family. She loved to attend family gatherings. She loved/cared for her husband and children. She had a heart for her neighbors. Marjorie attended every event possible to support her husband and children including softball games, little league games, wrestling matches, tennis matches, motorcycle races, car races, music lessons, concerts, ballet recitals, choir presentations, academic events/graduations, birthday parties, boy and girl scout meetings, ROTC band performances, award ceremonies, hosted holiday events and insured we were at Sunday School or Church. She enjoyed all kinds of music, dancing, roller skating, traveling through the mountains and in the later years her Bible study groups.

The following words from the song (That's Important to Me) by Rory and Joey Feek fit the way she lived her life:

"That’s important to me. She shared her life in so many ways and she let us all know what was important to her….paying the bills, staying out of debt, opening the windows letting in the air, holding hands when we’re saying a prayer, having somebody share my life, loving my husband and being a wife, and the very best Mother I can be, telling the truth and being real, feeding my family a homecooked meal, planting a garden and watching it grow, listening to country on the radio, always having you to hold, being beside you when we grow old, when they plant us beneath that big oak tree, believing our dreams would take us somewhere, still being ourselves if we ever get there, she said that’s important to me."

Those left to cherish Marjorie's memory include her children, Teresa & Hank Bolton of Colorado Springs, CO; Daryl & Tricia Lilly of Winterset, IA; and Shawn Lilly of Des Moines, IA. Also, Ruth McIntire (Sister) of Knoxville, TN, her children & their families; Dorothy Hick (Sister) & Dean Hick of Stuart, IA, their children & their families; the extended families including the McIntire's, Ratliff's, Lilly's and Bloom's.