Marilyn Elaine (Compton) Allender, 91, died Nov. 29 at Regency Park Nursing & Rehab in Jefferson.
Marilyn was the eldest born to Delmer Harvey Compton and Flora Sylvesta (Beam) Compton on May 14, 1929, in Greene County. She graduated from Bayard High School in 1947. She earned a degree in home economics from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant. It was there that she met Wayne Eugene Allender.
They were married June 21, 1951, in Scranton and settled on a farm northeast of Mount Pleasant. Marilyn began her teaching career that same year in New London. They welcomed their first-born daughter, Joyce, in 1952. As they welcomed their son Kevin in 1954 and their second daughter, Julie, in 1957, Marilyn chose to stay home with the children.
In the spring of 1963 the family moved to Greenbrier Township near Bagley, where Marilyn and Wayne continued their farming partnership in livestock (dairy and hogs) and diversified crops. Marilyn was a substitute teacher, helped local farmers with field work, and was a correspondent for Greenbrier Township for the Jefferson Bee & Herald. Her articles of the happenings of neighbors’ lives was her own version of present-day social media. The pictures of those events were left to the imagination of the reader, but from the mid ‘60s to the early 2010s, Marilyn kept the community well-informed.
Their youngest, Kyle, was born in 1970.
Marilyn was very involved in a variety of clubs and interests over the years: Pi Beta Phi, Heritage Seekers, Iowa Quilters Guild, Women’s Society of the Greenbrier United Methodist Church, Iowa Farm Bureau, AFS intercultural program, and 4-H. She also loved to travel, and she and Wayne frequented the west and camped in the mountains of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and South Dakota. Trips to California, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as Canada, to visit family were also popular destinations. She believed staying connected to extended family was very important to keep the stories and story alive and she was one of the best at writing letters and sending cards, rarely missing a birthday or anniversary. The highlight trip they enjoyed together was a belated celebration of their own 50th wedding anniversary to Germany to visit their two AFS sons, Christian Hornhues and Alex Traenkmann, and their families for Christian’s wedding.
One of her greatest passions in life was sewing and quilting. Her sewing machines were always set up for whatever project was on her docket for the day. From clothing for the family, pillows, and quilts of all sizes and styles, she stitched her love into each piece she created for gifts for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or special holidays, and included her personal signature to add value. Over the years, she taught hundreds of 4-H members, adults who took her many classes, her own children and grandchildren the art of sewing and quilting. She held high expectations for a quality outcome and those under her tutelage did not want to disappoint her.
In 2008 she was inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame for her lifelong membership: seven years as a member, 15 as a leader, and a judge for local achievement shows, county fairs and the Iowa State Fair for 55 years total through age 79 and beyond.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, husband Wayne in 2014 after 63 years of marriage, brother Don Compton, sister Barbara Carter, and sister-in-law Tina Compton.
She is survived by her children, Joyce Allender of Jefferson, Kevin (Patti) Allender of Bagley, Julie (Craig) Kadlec of Robins, and Kyle (Julie) Allender of Jefferson; grandchildren Conner Allender, Derek Allender, Brenna Battiato, Wayne Allender, Josef Kadlec, Ashley (Kadlec) Everts, Corey Kadlec, Matt Badnarik, Katie Badnarik, and Curtis Badnarik; great-grandchildren Sophia Allender, Zoey Everts, Jack Kadlec and Emerson brother-in-law Daryl Carter; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to Joyce Allender, 1522 330th St, Jefferson, IA. 50129; or Julie Kadle, 655 Freeseway Drive, Robins, IA. 52328.
Due to Covid-19, services will be planned at a later time. The family is assisted by Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home of Jefferson, 515-386-2171.
