Obit: Markee, Lorraine Zula (1944 – 2015)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Markee, Kern

Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, WI) 16 Oct 2015

Markee, Lorraine Zula (5 APR 1944 – 25 SEP 2015)

Lorraine Zula Kern Markee died September 25, 2015 at her home in Marshfield. Lorraine was born in Braun Settlement, Greenwood, WI on September 15, 1926 to George Henry Kern Jr. and Selma Wilhelmina (Mohs) Kern. She attended the Braun Settlement School in Clark County.

Memorial visitations celebrating her life will be held at Marshfield Public Library in the Beebee Forum Room on Monday, October 19, 2015 from 1pm until 3:30 pm. Please come to share your memories and recollections of Lorraine's life. She will be buried in Brooklawn Memory Gardens near her parents.

Lorraine's parents were living in Pittsville, WI at the time she was married to Richard Lavern Markee on April 5, 1944 in the parsonage of the Methodist church in Marshfield. The couple lived for a period of time in Chrystal Lake, IL, where Lorraine worked in a war plant. A daughter, Janet Carol was born to their union in 1945. The marriage later ended in divorce.

Lorraine was employed for many years by the Roddis Plywood Corporation and later the Weyerhaeuser Company. She was also a practical gardener. She enjoyed seeing the fruits and vegetables of her labor on her table and sharing them with her friends.

A charter member of the Marshfield Area Genealogy Group and Lorraine held many offices over the years. Her pursuit of family information took her on travels to Germany, England and Scotland for research. Her intense curiosity, keen intelligence and an abiding interest in family and local history led her to share her time and experience with others. With goodwill and a charming sense of humor she assisted hundreds in their personal family searches over the years. She shared her time and talent to create numerous cemetery indexes and other research tools to ease the quests of others in the future. Lorraine was a key contributor to the Marshfield Area Genealogy Index which is available on the Marshfield Public Library website. This database/index to birth, death and marriage information culled from Marshfield newspapers, now contains over 408,000 entries.

Lorraine was civic minded and was seen at most important community events. She loved going to the Marshfield Senior Center and visiting with everyone there. She especially enjoyed playing Wii bowling with friends and was actually quite good at it. She also played bingo on Tuesday afternoons and enjoyed musical entertainment. She will be remembered for her kindness and the way her whole face lit up, when she saw someone she knew.

Lorraine loved reading and was a daily patron of the Marshfield Public Library. She regularly attended programs and study opportunities on almost any topic. Lorraine is remembered as an entertaining conversationalist with the ability to talk on nearly any subject. She will be truly missed by all who knew her.

Lorraine was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her brother Roger Kern in Tomah, WI.

A memorial has been established in her name with the Marshfield Public Library Foundation, Inc.

Rembs Funeral Home is assisting the family with her arrangements.

Condolences may be sent online to www.rembsfh.com.