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While asleep at home in the early morning hours of
Saturday, September 8th, Elna Ruth Marr, peacefully
passed away and was awakened by angels tenderly and lovingly
escorting her to her eternal heavenly home with Jesus Christ her
savior. All of her loved ones, especially Jim with open arms
celebrated with much Joy and Happiness to
finally have her Home! Elna was born on August 7, 1924 in
Shawnee, Oklahoma, the daughter of Frank and Sylvia McCowan. She was
preceded in death by her beloved husband of 57 years, James B. Marr
who passed away on November 22, 2002. She was also preceded in death
by her loving parents, Frank Isaac McCowan and Sylvia Nadene
(Martin) McCowan; brothers Harry, Paul, infant Frank, Jr.; and
sister, Dorothy. She is survived by sisters Edna Mae Spearance and
Frances Ann Lofton, both of Shawnee, Oklahoma; sister-in-law, Helen
Potts of Bridgeport, Texas, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
She is survived by her two loving sons, James Michael Marr (Jeanie)
of Billings and David Richard Marr (Mikie) of Montclair, Virginia;
five granddaughters, Heather Schwab (Brent) of Billings, Tiffany
Marr of Denver, Kristen Marr, Sarah Lemn (Mat) and Allyson Marr all
of Virginia; one grandson, Rob Pedersen (Jodi) of Plentywood,
Montana and two great grandsons, Jarett and Jaxson Pedersen as well
as one great granddaughter, Madison Mae Schwab. Elna was so very
proud of her two sons and had so much love for her grandchildren and
great grandchildren. She thoroughly loved and thought the world for
each and everyone.
Elna was such a vivacious woman and was referred
to as a "Ray of Sunshine" or "Miss Sunshine". Wherever she went, no
one was a stranger to her and she was a truly gracious and kind
Southern Lady who made everyone around her feel special. Growing up
in Shawnee, she Loved school and was in the honor society and
also performed baton routines in the band. She is also remembered
for saving the life of her younger sister Edna Mae from drowning
while accidently falling in the river while on a fishing trip. Edna
Mae recalls how she grabbed her by her dress and pulled her with all
her might out of the current. Edna Mae says she would not be here
today if it wasn’t for Elna and her quick thinking.
Elna met her husband, James B. Marr in Oklahoma
while he was attending Oklahoma Baptist University. They were
married on July 10, 1945. Jim subsequently served in the war as a
Naval Officer on a destroyer for 4 ½ years. Elna was busy being the
wonderful mother that she was and making a home until Jim came back
home. He then finished his schooling at Oklahoma University where he
earned his degree in geology and became a Petroleum Engineer. He
then went to work for Philips Petroleum and went on many assignments
for them which gave Elna wonderful, interesting, and exiting
opportunities. They went on one such assignment to London, England
and stayed for 9 years. This is where she educated herself in
antiques and Jim joined in when possible on many of the excursions
around England and some of the neighboring countries in Europe.
Learning about antiques, meeting people and the fun and pleasure of
finding some of their "prizes" provided great fun and
accomplishment. Elna had such a great time and everyone around her
couldn’t help but to be drawn to her light and bright smile. She
became quite a master at going around to the many churches and other
places to do brass rubbings and became quite successful and
accomplished at this art. Unfortunately while living in London, Mom
was diagnosed with breast cancer and was treated in London.
Thankfully, to the excellent care and God’s grace she became a
breast cancer survivor! We are sure she was a patient they had a
hard time saying goodbye to and certainly miss her bright
personality.
After Jim retired they decided to go to Denver to
stay. They did live in Billings for many years in the beginnings of
his career and while James Michael was born in Shawnee, he was 6
when moving back to Billings and growing up here. Before Billings,
David Richard was born in Great Falls while the family was on
assignment there for a time. However, David went with Elna and Jim
to Denver and continued his education there. In spending their later
years in Denver, that is where Jim passed away, and after several
years Elna moved back to Billings where she enjoyed getting to see
old friends and be closer to family here. Elna liked to do so much
and both she and Jim enjoyed creative outlets, such as making
pottery together and fishing. Even though Jim’s game that her loved
and excelled in was golf, Elna’s game was bowling. She preferred
this and did very well in it. She was in a women’s bowling league
and her team traveled to many tournaments around the area and they
were very successful. She served as president of the G.E.O. wives
club for a time and on a "smaller" scale was den mother to David’s
cub scout troop. She also worked for a time at the Toy Chest in
Billings, of which she really enjoyed. As you can see, she wasn’t
one to sit idle. There were many times she would "run" over to her
son’s grade school and bring freshly baked cookies for the children
and teachers and the aroma that followed these fresh baked cookies
was kind of like her - her presence was a "sweet perfume" to many.
She had a lot of strength of character and class. She was a lovely
person with lots of heart. She enjoyed people and liked to entertain
and have fun! She was not only beautiful on the outside but also on
the inside and was truly blessed in her life. We all love you Elna
and we will miss you deeply, yet we will always treasure knowing
you, and enjoying all the facets of the beautiful gem you are!
There will be a viewing from 4:00 - 6:00pm,
Thursday, September 13, at Michelotti-Sawyers Mortuary, followed on
Friday, September 14th at 11:00am, by the burial at
Yellowstone Valley Memorial Park, located at 3605 Grand Avenue.
Our family would like to recognize and give thanks
to her primary caregiver, these past 4 years, Joanie L. McCubbin.
Joanie was not only her faithful caregiver but became her loving
friend. They enjoyed and had much fun together and Elna loved
Joanie. Thank you, Joanie, we could not have done it without you,
you made such a difference and learned how to understand and deal
with Alzheimers and thus help us. You really cared for Elna deeply
and she knew that. You were a faithful caregiver / friend /
protector and we thank you again! We would also like to thank Big
Sky Hospice for their sensitivity and knowledge and guidance to help
lead us down this road with Elna. We extend our deepest thanks to
the staff that helped during this time. You really made a difference
and Joanie joins in to thank you doctors, nurses, social worker and
volunteers, home health aids, and everyone , you are amazing! You
helped Joanie and gave her so much support in that she was with Elna
the whole way. We would also like to thank Hospice Chaplain Patty
Paquette from Big Sky Hospice for encouraging and making us aware of
the beautiful anointing with oil ritual we were so thankful to
participate in just hours before Elna left this earthly realm. Being
such a highly personal time in which we could express our hearts to
her in such a special holy way really ministered to us and to her,
especially since she passed away the next early morning.
Our family also asks in honor of Elna, any
contributions to be made would be given in her name to Big Sky
Hospice and the Alzheimers Organization to combat and find a cure to
end this terrible disease. Thank you, all friends and family for all
the love and support, it is sincerely appreciated and recognized.
"God saw her getting tired and a cure was not to
be; so He put His arms around her and whispered, "Come with me."
With tearful eyes we watched her suffer and saw her fade away.
Although we loved her dearly we could not make her stay. A golden
heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest. God broke our
hearts to prove to us He only takes the Best! (Author Unknown) |