Kearney, MO: Marilyn Ruth Westlake was born the sixth of seven children to Hugh and Maude Scott on October 10, 1931.
Growing up on a farm outside Ridgeway Mo, Marilyn learned to cook, care for livestock and tend to the familyâs big garden. She loved to ride her horse, Dixie, and her bicycle. Marilyn enjoyed school, graduating from Ridgeway High School in 1949 as part of a class of 17 students, several of which she continued life-long regular conversations and friendships.
After high school, Marilyn attended Northwest Missouri State College for a year before moving to Kansas City to live with her sister Mildred, who had one baby at home and was expecting another when her husband was deployed overseas. Marilyn helped with the babies and worked as a receptionist at a photo processing business.
Marilyn attended a dance in Bethany Mo where she met the love of her life, Gerald Westlake. He asked her to dance and she said âyesâ, but her ride home was ready to leave. Gerald offered to take her home, and they were inseparable from the next 68 years. After dating for about a year, Gerald was called to the Army during the Korean War. Before leaving for boot camp, Marilyn and Gerald eloped to Arkansas to be married on August 6, 1951, but kept that a secret until he was ready for permanent assignment to Fort Hood in Killeen Texas. They moved into a small apartment above a garage in Temple Texas. Marilyn worked at Sears and Roebuck and as a dental receptionist and assistant.
Their first child, Dianne, was born in 1953 in an Army hospital, which Marilyn described as both cheap in price and amenities. Gerald was soon discharged from the Army and the new family drove 800 miles to the farm near Hatfield, Mo., that would be their home for the next 40-plus years. And where Marilynâs early training really paid off. She was a farmwife in every sense of the word. She helped with the animals, grew a big garden, tended to the lawn and flowers, made huge meals for hired hands, but mostly she was a mother and homemaker.
Rick was born in 1956, followed by Lori in 1961. Marilyn recently said that rocking babies was the best time in her life. She would snuggle them close and sing to them as they rocked. Marriage and children were very important to Marilyn. Dianne, Rick and Lori were involved in church, 4-H and sports activities. Gerald and Marilyn rarely, if ever, missed one of their events, even though it was a 10-mile drive to town. The worst part of her life was the passing of Dianne in 2011.
When grandchildren started being added to the family, Marilyn would hug and kiss them (leaving red lipstick prints on their cheeks), rock them, take them to the barn to see the cats and kittens, make them anything they wanted to eat (including fudgesicles for breakfast). Gerald would take them for rides in the tractor to see the cows and learn about machinery in the shed.
After selling the 800-acre farm in 1999 to the Nature Conservancy to expand the Dunn Ranch Prairie, Gerald and Marilyn retired and moved to Bethany, Mo. They already had a 5th-wheel camper, then upgraded to a motor home. They traveled most of the United States and spent several winters in southern Texas and Arizona.
Gerald passed away in October 2019. Marilyn sold her home in Bethany to move to Westbrook Villas in Kearney, Mo., to be closer to family. She enjoyed reading, playing cards, going for walks, feeding the stray cats and spending time with many good friends during her four years there.
Other than birthing their three children, Marilyn had never been in the hospital until she reached age 91. Then time took its toll over the next year, and she passed away on December 23, 2023 with family at her side.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Wayne, Bud and Rex; sisters Farrah, Mildred and Rosalyn; husband Gerald; daughter Dianne; and nieces, nephews and in-laws.
She will be forever missed by remaining family members son Rick Westlake; daughter Lori (Mark) Smith; granddaughters Jaime (Cara) Lane, Jennifer Lane, Jessica (Tim) Burrow, Alex (Dakota) Zimmerman; grandson Ben Smith; great-granddaughter Olivia Burrow; nieces, nephews and in-laws. Following cremation, a memorial service will be held at Westbrook Villas in Kearney Mo on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. Marilyn and Geraldâs ashes will be combined and buried together at Miriam Cemetery in Bethany, Mo., at a later date.