Marlene Lucille Schmidt Becker

My dear wife, our mother and grandmother, Marlene Lucille Schmidt Becker, was born on Nov. 2, 1935, to Samuel C. and Leah Koehn Schmidt at Isabella, Okla. She peacefully passed away on Jan. 4, 2022, at the Medicalodges in Nevada, Mo., reaching the age of 86 years.

Mom, the 10th of 12 children, was born during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Her family moved to Kansas when she was very young. They lived at various places and she attended the local country and public schools. At the age of thirteen, realizing the need of a Savior, she gave her heart to the Lord. She was baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite on Dec. 19, 1948, at the Lone Tree Congregation, Galva, Kan., by Min. Jonas Koehn. The church was precious to her and she embraced this faith unto the end.

In her youth, she worked in several hospitals in Kansas, and also went to work as a nurse in the Mexico mission.

Marlene was joined in marriage to me, L. John Becker, on Dec. 22, 1961, at Hillsboro, Kan. Together we shared the joys and sorrows of life for 60 years. Soon after our wedding we returned to Chihuahua, Mexico to finish my 1W service. After finishing the term of service, we moved to Missouri where we attended the Rich Hill congregation for several years before becoming a part of the new congregation at Walker, Mo. Two daughters and two sons were born to our union. On Dec. 7, 1969, I was ordained to the ministry, and she faithfully stood by my side and willingly filled her place.

In 1973, our family went to the mission in Mexico. Throughout the following years our parents served in various locations, including eight years in the Finger Lakes area of New York.

The ones left to cherish precious memories are her loving husband, John; her children, Janet and Ivan Peachey, Belleville, Penn., Gary and Diane, Galva, Kan., William and Charlotte, Walker, Mo., and Joyce and Allyn Johnston, Oroville, Calif.; 17 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; her sister, Laverna Unruh; brother-in-law, Byron Hiebert; sisters-in-law, Beatrice Riggs, Moundridge, Kan., and JoAnn Schmidt, Montezuma, Kan., and sister-in-law, Betty and Kenneth Koehn, Rich Hill, Mo.; and brother-in-law, Walter and Ruth Toews, Montezuma, Kan., also nieces, nephews, neighbors and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; parents-in-law; five brothers and five sisters.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Living Faith Mennonite Church, Walker, Mo., with Pastors Ron Koehn, Robert Smith, and Shelby Koehn officiating. Interment will follow in the Living Faith Mennonite Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Living Faith Mennonite Church.

Memorials are suggested to the Living Faith Mennonite Church in care of Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada.

View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.