Marion C. Bresee

Fennimore, WI-Marion C. Bresee passed away unexpectedly on Friday January 20, 2017 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. She was born there 78 years earlier on June 7, 1938, the daughter of Delbert and Caroline (Riley) Russell. She graduated from Livingston High School in 1956 and married her forever sweetheart, Mervin Bresee, on June 30, 1956, at the Primitive Methodist Church in Platteville. Together, they had three children.

Marion worked at many places throughout her life including World of Variety, the Fennimore Doll Museum, the public library, and taught Sunday School. She was also a stay-at-home mom when the kids were young. Marion also worked as a custodian at Fennimore Schools and as a cook at the Good Samaritan Society before her and Mervin purchased City Foods grocery store in 1970, running it until 1984. In 1985, they purchased the liquor store east of Fennimore, and operated Merv’s Liquor Store until retiring in 1995. Most of the time you could find Marion in her chair reading a book or with a needle in her hand. She had such enthusiasm for cross-stitching that she even got her husband and brother Buck into it. Marion has so many different projects started, and drawers full of fabric with so many ideas behind each piece. Marion was a great Euchre player and fierce Wheel of Fortune competitor. She was sassy and opinionated but very loving and caring. Marion also enjoyed ceramics, crosswords, playing solitaire, discussing soap operas, and collecting snowmen and cardinals. She enjoyed traveling to Branson and going on road trips to the casino with friends. If you weren’t feeling well, she would bring you ice cream, and she never failed to offer visitors cookies. Her specialty was spending time with family and loved ones.

Marion is survived by her beloved husband of 60 years; Mervin of Fennimore, three children; Marcus (Jill) Bresee of Fennimore, Peggy (Randy) Beach of Mt. Hope, and Penny (Tim) Biba of Boscobel, 10 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, four siblings; Blanche (Ken) Johnson of Grants Pass, OR, Grant (Joyce) Russell of Fertile, IA, Inez Russell of Fennimore, and Anson (Eleanor) Russell of Brooklyn, WI.

Marion was preceded in death by her parents and an infant sister.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at the Larson Family Funeral Home in Fennimore. Visitation will be held from 9:00 A.M. until the time of service at the funeral home on Wednesday morning. A burial of cremated remains will be held at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery in Fennimore at a later date. In lieu of plants and flowers, memorials would be greatly appreciated.