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Mersch Obituary
Marlene Mersch, 85, of Aurora, passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at Memorial Community Care.
Funeral Services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22 at Messiah Lutheran Church in Aurora. Pastor Rudy Flores will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be made in care of the family to designate at a later date. Higby-McQuiston Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Marlene Ann Mersch, the daughter of John William and Elaine (Sundermeier) Opp was born at Wood River, on May 12, 1938 and passed away at Aurora, on April 18, 2024 at the age of 85.
Marlene grew up on a farm near Wood River. She attended District 44 School in Hall County. She graduated from Wood River High School and received her Registered Nurse Diploma from St. Francis School of Nursing in Grand Island and her BSN in Nursing from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
Marlene was married to William Lee Mersch on May 1, 1960 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Grand Island. They had two children: Mark and Monica. Marlene’s career in nursing spanned 42 years, retiring in 2000. She worked at St. Francis Hospital and Lutheran Hospital in Grand Island; worked at Garlinghouse and Harvey, gynecologists and University of NE Student Health Center while husband, Bill, was in law school. They moved to Aurora when Bill graduated and joined Whitney and Newman law office in Aurora. Marlene worked at Memorial Hospital and Larson’s Nursing Home in Aurora. She spent the last 12 years of her career at Grand Island-Hall County Health Department in Grand Island.
Marlene was awarded an Admiralship in the Great Navy of the state of Nebraska for her work with the Nebraska Immunization Program. She was also on the Nebraska State Nursing Home Advisory Council under Governor Tiemann’s tenure and was a member of the Plainsman Museum Board and the Hamilton County Foundation. Marlene was a fifty-year member of Beta Sigma Phi and P.E.O. Chapter of Aurora. Marlene loved to sing. She was a member of the Messiah Lutheran choir and sang with The Liberty Belles under the direction of Judy Sullivan for the twenty years of their existence. She always said their one day a week practice was her “therapy”.
Marlene and Bill were charter members of Messiah Lutheran Church and were privileged to hold many different positions while it grew to serve many citizens of Aurora and the surrounding area. Marlene felt privileged to be a member of the first church council of Messiah. The night it was to meet at her home she decided to use the Girl Scout cookies she had in the deep freeze with ice cream for dessert. The freezer was located in the laundry room which was attached to the garage. She got all of the boxes out of the freezer to thaw and not one box had any cookies in it, yet they were all closed and piled neatly on the freezer shelf! Needless to say, there were no cookies for dessert that evening. Don’t know the culprits. Haven’t gotten any confessions from Doc Holiday, Butch or the Sundance kid to this day.
The brightest spot in her life was her family. She adored her children and grandchildren and wanted to watch them grow up every minute she could. They were so fortunate to be present at the births of all three grandchildren. There were many trips to Omaha and Loveland, Colorado for birthdays, musical programs, baptisms, graduation, dance recitals, etc..
She was preceded in death by her parents, John William and Elaine Sundermeier Opp; parents-in-law, William C. and Alice Rains Mersch; step-father-in-law, Howard (Bud) Plant and brother, James Opp.
Those left to cherish her memory are her husband of 63 years, Bill of Aurora; son, Mark (Devi) Mersch of Omaha, daughter, Monica (Joe) Deming of Loveland, Colorado; granddaughter, Terryn Grace Mersch of Omaha, grandsons, Taylor Mark Mersch of Omaha and Payton Joseph Deming of Loveland, CO; sister, Shirley (Dale) Holst of Longmont, CO; brother-in-law, Tom (Emily) Mersch of Aurora; 5 nephews, one niece and 15 great nephews and nieces.
