Marilyn Eva (Abbott) Humphrey

Marilyn Eva Humphrey, beloved mother and friend to many, passed away on November 8, 2019.

Marilyn is remembered as a warm person to all who knew her during her wonderful life.  She was born in Kenney, Illinois, a small midwestern town, located in America’s heartland (population 400), to Miriam and Raymond Abbott, on June 14, 1937.  Born the third of six children, she kept her midwestern values and sensibilities throughout her life.

Marilyn graduated from Kenney High School where she was a cheerleader and valedictorian.  She married her high school sweetheart, the late Bob Humphrey in the Kenney Methodist Church, on August 14, 1955.  She began her young family in Freeport, Illinois, where Bob took an engineering job.  In 1966, the family moved to Orange, California, when Bob accepted another engineering position, and Marilyn would soon start her career as a secretary in the vice principal’s office at Orange High School.  Marilyn finished her career working for a property management firm in Orange.

Widowed in 1991, Marilyn lived the rest of her life in Orange, where she loved her swimming pool and tending to her rose garden and tomato patch.  Family and friends were central to Marilyn’s life, and she would often travel back to Illinois to visit her large extended family, and annual high school reunions. 

Marilyn was predeceased by her sister, Marjory in 1999, and is survived by her 2 sons Steve and David, 4 grandchildren, Jonathan, Ben, Steven & Diana, her brother Jim, and sisters Mary Jane, Marty, and Marleen. 

On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, a visitation will be held 11am – 12pm, with a service at 12:00pm at Shannon Family Mortuary, located at 137 E. Maple Ave. Orange.   Reception to follow.

Marilyn will be taken “home” for a second funeral service.  A visitation will be held Thursday, November 21, 2019 at Calvert Funeral Home, in Clinton, Illinois from 5pm – 7pm.  The service will be Friday, November 22, 2019 at 11am at the Kenney Methodist Church, with a graveside service at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Kenney, Illinois, where she will be buried alongside her husband.   Luncheon to follow at the Kenney Community Center

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