Marion Ansley

Marion was a very wonderful mother to our children, Suzanne and Bryan.  I have very fond memories of Marion coordinating activities on Christmas morning as she would gather the kids around the tree and hand out every single Christmas present to Bryan and Suzi.  She took such joy in watching their eyes light up with each present they unwrapped.  Marion also made sure that our house was lit up with beautiful lites throughout the Christmas season.  For Christmas this year everyone light one additional special lite in honor of Marion.

As a young mother, Marion made sure that Suzi and Bryan were well cared for.  When we lived on Williams AFB AZ in the early 80s, Marion made our house the hub for all of the neighborhood kids.  She always had a kind heart and welcomed all of the kids in the neighborhood into our home.  In fact this was something that continued through our childrens lives.  Marion was loved by all of Bryan and Suzi’s friends and she will be missed by all.

Marion also had a talent for writing and loved to put hers words down into a flowing story.  I am thankful that she passed this trait on to Suzi and Bryan as this is not my strong suit. 

When I met Marion in the summer of 1978, I was awestruck by her beauty.  She most definitely caught the eye of every boy at LAHS.   Though we drifted apart over the years, I am greatful that we shared the joy of raising two incredible children.  Suzi and Bryan will continue to carry the legacy of their mother through their lives.  Though her time on earth was short, she made an indelible impression on the people that knew her.  God give her peace and heal the hearts of all that greive her. 
God Bless you Marion. 

Where to begin? I first met Marion when I met her brother Terry (now my husband) five years ago. She instantly made me 
feel welcome. She always had a smile for everyone. I remember her coming to stay with Cory, Terry's son while we were on
vacation. He is so shy but Marion dragged his personality out while she was there. She formed a quick bond with him and 
valued that so much. She understood his quiet side as she understood so much about all of us even though it wasn't always easy.
She constatnly sent pictures and quick little storie about her nephew and neice that showed what a warm and caring person 
she was. How she loved those kids! First anf foremost she was a Mother. She always talked about her kids and was so
excited when they would visit or when she got to go visit them in New Mexico. She was a great sister in law too.
We would sit at her parents house on her swing and chit chat about anything and everything. What I remember most
is her humming and singing. Someone would say something or something would happen and we would both break out a 
song that had the same words or something to do with the situation. We would laugh so hard, always on the same wave lenth!


Two weeks before she passed away I had an appointment for work in the Phoenix area so I went to spend the night with her 
and her parents. Bob and Sue went to bed and as usual Marion and I stayed up late sitting on the swing chatting and
 catching up. In the morning my appointment cancelled. I thought, wow, I drove all this way from Tucson and didn't make 
a dime. My second thought was, oh well,at least I got a chance to visit with Marion, Bob and Sue. God works in strange ways! 
I feel now that it was his way ofallowing me to spend a few last hours with Marion. If I hadn't gone I wouldn't have had 
those last wonderful hours that I spent with her to cherish. Losing her makes me realize how much
 I miss my own sister in Ca. Our time here is so short. I will miss you so much Marion. 
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life. See you in Heaven.........Love you, Di

I have so many wonderful memories of my mom, who we called our "Momma Bear", which was a nickname she picked up when we lived in Colorado.  It fit her, and it stuck. 

My mom was considered the Neighborhood Mom as we were growing up in Rio Rancho, NM.  She was the person everyone would turn to when they needed a friend, or advice, or a hug.  She had about 20 "children" in our little neighborhood of Vista Hills, and they all loved her so much.

I have so many random things I remember about her.  Going to Bingo for birthdays, or just to get away when either her or I were feeling down.  She loved playing Mario Party with Bryan, my Colorado Best Friend Cheryl, and I when we were living in Colorado.  She loved Princess Peach, and so that was her character she would play as.  We had every single Mario Party game available on the Game Cube, and would play different ones each night together. 

My favorite memories of Mom are from Christmas.  It was both of our favorite holiday.  We would put up SO many decorations all over the house, inside and out.  I even remember on multiple occasions, Mom and I would wait until Dad would fall asleep, and go to the 24 hour Walmart Super Stores to buy more Christmas Decorations, and then we would hide them throughout the garage until it was time to put them up.  We would blast Christmas music, spanning from Alvin and the Chipmunks, to the "Very Special Christmas" CDs.  Alvin and the Chipmunks always reminded her of when I was a little kid at Christmas time.  So many nights around Christmas were spent driving around listening to those CDs and looking at lights.  Those were always great nights.  She also taught me how to bake cookies and such for the holidays.  That was always fun. 

I always loved my mom's cooking, and am lucky I got to learn a little bit from her as I was growing up.  Cooking when I was younger was a disaster!!  I would always burn things, or cook them completely wrong.  I have never been a very patient person, and for some reason when I was younger, I really hated reading directions on things.  When I'd be cooking rice, I would never get it right, and it would always burn.  Eventually Mom realized it was because I had never read the directions for the rice, just how much water and rice to add.  She taught me the importance of being patient, and following the directions on the food boxes.  She also taught me how to get creative in the kitchen, and that has made me a pretty darn good cook.

Mom loved children so very much, she was always so excited to see all of the new babies that our friends had, and treated them as if they were her very own Grandkids. 

She taught me a lot.  She taught me to spell well, type fast, and she tried really hard to teach me how to write proper essays.  I was always a little too scatter brained for that one, but she did everything she could to help me re-arrange everything once I was done writing them.  She was very smart, and was such an amazing writer.  Her poetry was always great, and she taught my brother how to write poetry as well.  I caught a little bit of that, but I was never as good as her and Bryan.  She wrote lots of short stories, and even a book at one point that she tried very hard to get published.  It was a long process, but she really gave it her all.

My mom and I had a lot of ups and downs when I was growing up.  I was a very rebellious teenager, and she didn't know what to do with me.  After high school, once I had moved out on my own, we really developed our relationship, and grew very close.  She became someone I could talk to, and be open and honest with.  We would laugh and cry together, and she was always there for me during the hard times.  It's going to be very hard not to be able to pick up a phone and call her to tell her the good, bad or random things going on in my life.  I already miss her so much, and it is going to be hard without her, but I know she is no longer in pain.  I picture Mom now as a beautiful angel, as she always did love angels and fairies, and I hope she will watch over us forever.

I love you Momma Bear, and I will miss you forever!

Love,
Suzi

I first met Marion when I transferred to Melvin E. Sine school.  We became fast friends and would hang out
all of the time.  The thing I remember the most about Marion would be the slumber parties that she had
at her house.  There was also lots of giggling when all of the girls hung out.  We would always try to think
of some fun thing to do to one another......freeze the bra, put a sleeping girls hand in warm water, pillow
fights!  Those will always be memories that I will cherish.

We were both on the pom line in 8th grade.  We had so much fun preparing our dances, performing, and
participating in parades.  She was a very talented dancer.

Although we lost touch with each other the memories I have of Marion will forever stay in my heart.  She
was not only beautiful on the outside but beautiful on the inside. 

Rest in peace, Marion.

Fondly,
Kathy Kelly

I am Marion's niece. Her "favorite niece" is what she called me. Sorry to the others, but it is what it is! Ha!

I have so many wonderful memories of my aunt. She is, too, my favorite aunt! I still can't believe that she is gone! I was so incredibly blessed to have had her babysit my 2 beautiful kids. She started watching Parker when he was only 9 months old. And she started babysitting McKynlie since she was 2 months old. She has taught them so many things. Not just educational stuff, but your every day living things. She brought out the best in those kids! She told me so many times that those kids gave her the happiness in her days. She looked forward to coming over and spending the 1-2 days a week with them. I know that it was a challenge, physically, to come over and be with the kids, but she would make sure she was there every time. Just because she loved them that much! I truly believe that they were the grandkids she never got. And I'm extremely happy that I got to be the one to give her that happiness. 

Then there were times that she would stay the night with me and we would order pizza or bring in Chipotle and hang out, just the 2 of us, after the kids would go to bed, we would rent a movie (always a comedy) and laugh our butts off.  

I'm sure gonna miss those days and miss those funny texts and pictures of the kids that she would send. Parker still doesn't quite understand what has happened to Aunt Mare, and he still asks, "is Mare coming today?" I try not to cry, but I do and he just looks at me with such concerning eyes and changes the subject because he knows his mommy is sad. He won't ever forget his best friend, Mare. And I know that she is still watching and babysitting my beautiful babies.

I will forever love and cherish each and every memory that we shared! I will never forget everything that you taught my babies!

Love,

Jenny Bean