Obituary: Marilyn Jean Thorne, 81, Ludington.

Obituary: Marilyn Jean Thorne, 81, Ludington.

It is with great sadness that Marilyn Jean (Parks) (Olson) Thorne passed away at age 81 on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at Oakview Medical Care Facility. Marilyn was born April 28, 1938, to Minnie and Ralph Parks. 

Marilyn loved to be at home, puttering around the house and gardening, and caring for and entertaining for her husband, children, and grandchildren. She loved to watch the deer and birds come in to feed in her yard. Her grandchildren gave her much joy and she spent a lot of time going for walks in the woods, taking them to beach and state park, visiting, and shopping. She really enjoyed the yearly Park-Vaughn and Thorne family reunions and holiday get-togethers, so busy making sure everything was perfect she would forget to sit down and eat. Christmas was one of her favorite holidays, and she would fill the living room with so many presents for the grandchildren, there would be no room to sit.

She spent a lot of time camping, fishing, canoeing, snowmobile riding, cooking, laying out in the sun, dancing, and canning. She liked to socialize and spent many years actively involved in the VFW in Custer. She worked in the sporting goods department at K-mart for many years and always loved talking with and serving the customers.

Marilyn was known for her loving hugs and funny stories, always trying to tell jokes but forgetting the punchlines. She loved to collect photos, knick-knacks, and plants and really enjoyed a clean and neat home. Marilyn was always there to pick anyone up who had fallen, no matter who they were or how many times it happened without judgment. She loved to read and encouraged that and a love of the outdoors in her children.

Marilyn is survived by her husband, Lewis Thorne of Custer; daughters Susan Olson McIntosh of Grand Haven, Barbara Olson of Ludington, and Michelle Olson Zank of Palm Bay, Florida, and son, Richard Olson; grandchildren, Melissa McIntosh, Sarah Petersen, Ashley Kelsey, Cody, Danyelle, Erica and Zackery Zank, and Tiffany Olson; several great-grandchildren; and one sister, Pat Niedzielski.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and her sisters, Alice Blake, Bonnie Harrington, and Vickie Jowan.

A celebration of Marilyn’s life will be held in the spring of 2020. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Hospice, Great Lakes Caring Hospice Foundation, 900 Cooper Street, Jackson, MI 49202, GreatLakesCaringHospiceFoundation.org, in Marilyn’s name. 

Arrangements were entrusted to Oak Grove Funeral Home of Ludington, www.OakGroveLudington.com.