Family get-togethers were of the upmost importance and they often revolved around her enjoyment of making food for everyone. She particularly looked forward to playing “Hand and Foot” with her card club friends every opportunity she could get. Marlene loved to have fun! She especially loved the time spent playing cards and board games with family and friends. But her greatest service to Christ United Methodist Church was serving as the church treasurer for over 20 years.Īs busy as she was with all of her clubs, activities, organizations, and church obligations, her greatest joy was the time she spent with her family. She delivered Meals on Wheels, was a faithful blood donor, and gave unselfishly of her time to her church and community. Marlene taught Sunday School, was Sunday School Treasurer, was very active with the local WSCS and UMW, the Waterloo District UMW, Jayceettes, DAR, GFWC/Iowa Toledo Woman’s Club, Rose Hill Cemetery Society, and Pleasant Hill Cemetery Society. Marlene took pride in helping Gerald on the farm, doing all of the bookwork for the farm and trucking operations, and even drove truck for several years! It was here that they raised their 3 daughters, and worked side-by-side in their farming and trucking operations. In 1958, they were joined in marriage and made their home on Gerald’s family farm, where she resided until seven years after his death. In 1957, her life-long friend, Karen Eernisse, arranged for her brother, Gerald, to make a delivery to Marlene, and the rest is history. She enjoyed telling people that she lived on K Avenue for a total of 65 years, but it was at 3 different places in rural Toledo (the farm she was born on, the family Heritage Farm, and her apartment at Country View Place)! Marlene graduated from Toledo High School in 1954 and lived the majority of her life in Toledo. She was baptized at Pleasant Hill Methodist Church, and was a devoted, faithful member of the Methodist Church her entire life. Born during the depression, her parents, Floyd and Florence (Head) Davis, had little, but provided a lot of love, and instilled the importance of faith and family to all 5 children, which she then passed down to her family. Marlene was born on a farm, north of Toledo, on October 29, 1936. Burial will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo with lunch following at the church.

Funeral Services will be held on Friday, at 11:00 AM at Christ United Methodist Church with Pastor Jill Mack officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday, from 4-7 PM at Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo. After enduring chronic pain for years, and then suffering from a broken hip, she chose to enter Comfort Care at Grinnell Regional Medical Center, where she received compassionate, loving care. Marlene Eernisse, 86, of Toledo, Iowa, went Home to be with Jesus and so many of her loved ones on Sunday, April 30, 2023.

A Better Place by Mark A. Roeder