Marilyn Lou Schlafman, 85, of Bellevue, NE passed away July 8, 2024, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, ID. Marilyn was born on July 31, 1938 to Arnold and Ethel Duckwitz in Stark County, ND. She grew up on a farm near Hebron, ND with her parents, 4 brothers, and 7 sisters. As you can imagine with that many children and lots of open farmland there was plenty of work, lots of adventures, and even some mischief. Marilyn attended high school in Hebron and one year of college at Dickinson Teaching College. She taught school in a one room schoolhouse before marrying her husband Donald John Schlafman.
Donald was in the Air Force for 20 years, so Marilyn was able to travel and see different places before they settled near Offutt AFB in Bellevue, NE. Marilyn had two children, and babysat several others.
Marilyn was an avid animal lover. She had three dogs she dearly cared for, Buttons, Abbey and Shotzie. She enjoyed bird watching and feeding squirrels and her neighbor’s tomcat Smokey, who loved her chicken and rice. She volunteered at the Henry Doorly Zoo and as child roamed the pasture looking after her birds and kittens. She was an avid crafter including cake decorating, sewing, ceramics, macramé, knitting, and tole and oil painting. Her Santa cookies were a Christmas tradition. She made hundreds of cookies for neighbors and friends. Many of her nieces received dolls during the Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy sewing phase. She made beautiful dresses for her granddaughter.
Along with all the crafts and kids, Marilyn found time to work. Marilyn’s least favorite chore as a child was doing dishes, so it is ironic that she ended up working in food service for the Bellevue public schools for 15 years. After retiring from the schools, she worked as an aide at Hillcrest Care Center. She loved taking care of people, so this was a perfect fit for her. Marilyn was an active member of the First Presbyterian church.
She enjoyed her Bible study group and could be found cooking Youth Club meals long after her children had left home. Marilyn was active in several groups including Bellevue Women’s Club, Red Hat Society, Extension Club, a book club, a Boggle group, and Presbyterian Women group. Marilyn enjoyed spending time with her family and could often be found playing Pinochle with her husband and kids. Don and Marilyn both loved gardening and sharing their bounty with the neighbors. She always had beautiful flowers in the yard.
Marilyn is survived by her daughters, Samantha Alexander and Melinda Cebull (Peter); family friend Lucy Schlafman; grandchildren Rachel Cebull and Nicholas Cebull; brothers Fredrick Duckwitz (Donna Mae), Will Duckwitz (Rita) and Noel Duckwitz (Cathy); sisters Margaret Mandeville (Walt), Marjorie Kinghorn (Milton), Linda Duckwitz, and Donnalee Quarberg (Wayne).
She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald John Schlafman; parents Arnold and Ethel Duckwitz; brother Waldemar Duckwitz; sisters Sylvia Hepner, Phyllis Schultz, and Lois Martz.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27, 2024 at the Bellevue Memorial Funeral Chapel, 2202 Hancock St, Bellevue, NE 68005. Family will visit with friends an hour before the service.
Following the memorial service, please join the family for a luncheon celebrating Marilyn’s life at the Bellevue Volunteer Firefighters Hall, 2108 Franklin Street, Bellevue, NE 68005.
Memorials will be directed to the First Presbyterian Church, 1220 Bellevue Boulevard South, Bellevue, NE 68005 or the American Cancer Society / www.cancer.org.
To view a live broadcast of the memorial service, click the link below.
https://boxcast.tv/view/marilyn-lou-schlafman-memorial-service-nd7eq3fbybp0jws3zaak
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