Marian Waddell

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Marian Waddell, 92, Seneca, passed away Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at the Faulkton Senior Living.

Funeral service was held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 16, 2015 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Seneca, with Pastor Daniel Tews officiating. Burial followed in the Oakland Cemetery, Seneca. A prayer service was held at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 15, at Luce Funeral Home, Faulkton with visitation one hour prior.

Marian Josephine (Van Bockel) Waddell was born July 23, 1922 to Agnes (Hiemstra) and Joe Van Bockel in Leota, MN. When she was a small child, she moved with her parents to a farm south of Lebanon. She was the oldest of five siblings. She attended Copp Country School, however she was sent home in 1st grade because she only spoke “Dutch”. She returned to school the following year, and that was the start of 37 years of “schooling”. First she graduated from Gettysburg High School, and she received her Bachelor’s degree from Northern State University 28 years later. One of her cherished memories of childhood was of her father reading passages after supper from the Dutch bible which sat on a shelf under the old wooden table.

Marian married Gregor Olesen in 1941. They had one daughter, Carol, in 1942. Marian was what they called then a “6 week wonder”. She attended summer school and started teaching that fall. She taught country schools around Seneca and Lebanon and eventually in Faulkton. During the school term and every summer she attended extension classes and summer classes.

Gregor passed away in 1970. In 1972, Marian married Glen Kimbley of Onida. Marian retired from teaching and joined Glen and his combining crew who harvested from Texas to Canada. They only stopped in South Dakota long enough to harvest Glen’s crops. Marian thoroughly enjoyed her life with Glen, and she also enjoyed being able to see different parts of the United States that she had taught about in the past.

After Glen passed away in 1977, Marian started spending winters in Texas, often with friends from Seneca. It was there that she met Harold Waddell. Marian and Harold got married in 1987. Harold was from Wyoming; so for about 10 years they divided their time between Texas, Wyoming, and Seneca. After Harold passed away in 2001, Marian continued to live in Seneca as well as Duluth until she moved into the Faulkton Healthcare Center in 2009.

Marian loved life and did everything with “gusto”, which included: dancing, sewing, playing cards, cooking, gardening, reading, and traveling to see Carol, Dave, and the kids in Duluth. She was a long time member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and several bridge clubs. She was also involved in many Seneca community activities, one of which was being co-chairman of Seneca’s Centennial celebration in 1984.

Marian is survived by her daughter, Carol (David) Duncan of Seneca/Duluth; her brother, Raymond (Georgia) Van Bockel of Gettysburg; her sisters: Jetta (David) LeDuc of York, NE and JoAnn (Everett) Tennant of Seneca; her grandchildren: Cory (Shelly) Duncan of Hudson, WI, Kipp (Nikki) Duncan of Duluth, MN, and Kristin (Derek) Plante of Duluth, MN; her great-grandchildren: Cameron and Natalie Duncan of Hudson, WI, Kora and Dane Duncan of Duluth, MN, and Zam, Max, and Victor Plante of Duluth, MN; her three stepchildren; and one step grandchild.

Marian was preceded in death by her three cherished husbands; her parents; her sister, Elda (Curt) Scheller; and her brother, Vernon (Shirley) Van Bockel.

Luce Funeral Home of Faulkton has been entrusted with Marian’s arrangements.