Marianne Kay Green

Marianne Kay (Miller) Green was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, daughter, niece, cousin and friend. The Good Lord called her home on Friday March 22, 2024 at the age of 82. She was born to Oscar W. and Martha E. (Eller) Miller on January 2, 1942. After graduating from Pekin High School in 1961, she married Robert G. Green on April 8, 1962. Though the two would eventually part ways, during their years together they were blessed with 4 children, Teresa Lynn, James Robert, Catherine Ann, and Dorothy Mae. Marianne was a lifelong resident of Pekin Illinois, living most of her years in the family home at 1408 Nth 5th St and the last 2 years as a much loved resident of Pekin Manor, where her boisterous laugh, silly humor and gentle heart touched the lives of many. Marianne's first priority was always her family. As a devoted daughter, she happily took care of her mother, Martha, in her mother's final years. As a loving niece, she made it her mission to visit her uncle, Homer, in Pekin Manor every single day and help her Aunt Gertrude in every way she could throughout their final years as well. Marianne’s heart for caregiving wasn't reserved for only her family. She also made it her career, providing loving care and friendship to the elderly in both the private sector and for Community Care Systems for many years. Marianne lived her life as a shining example of what it truly means to "Love One Another". Through watching her, we learned that often times the best comfort we can give isn't by saying the perfect words or performing the perfect actions, but instead, just sitting quietly with someone in their sickness, pain or grief, so they will not feel alone. Through Marianne’s kind spirit and servant's heart, God was able to touch the lives of so many.... more even than we'll probably ever know... because she often did her "good works" without the want of recognition. Showing up at someone's door with a homemade angel food cake or a bag of much needed groceries that she "mistakenly bought too much of and wanted to put to good use" was a randomly regular thing for her to do. Even if she had little to spare, she gladly shared what she had anytime she heard of a need. When Marianne became a grandmother herself, she joyfully embraced the name "Grandma Ann", which would become the name she would use moving forward, not only with her own grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but with every child who was blessed to know her, many of whom became her "bonus grandkids". Oh, how she loved the children! Whether she was babysitting them in her home or visiting them in theirs, Grandma Ann always made them feel loved. Taking them to McDonald's playland and to the family cabin on Spring Lake to fish or swim were two of her favorite ways to spend the day. Even when she wasn't able to be with them, Grandma Ann always had the kids in mind, spending countless hours sewing special pillows or blankets for them. Grandma Ann truly enjoyed the simple things in life. She loved to eat out and made it known that fried chicken and Chinese buffet were her favorites 😉 She loved to go fishing and boy was she good at it! There could be a dozen of us fishing on that dock, yet she would be the only one catching fish! She also enjoyed camping for many years. She liked reading faith based novels, sewing, and watching The Voice on TV. She loved writing letters to her family and friends and rarely missed the opportunity to send a special occasion card to those she loved. Grandma Ann spent much of her youth on her grandparent's farm (which is now part of Everett Dirkson Park) and many of her most precious memories were of happy times spent there. As children, we would beg her to tell us stories about the farm and she was always delighted to do so. With sparkling eyes and a lilt in her voice, she would reminisce about her beloved horses. As we listened, simply captivated, she would describe their appearances in such great detail and recall the singular personality of each with such affection and humor that, in our own minds eye, we grew to know and love them too. We would laugh, completely charmed, as Dusty, her palomino who would have been more appropriately named Houdini, not only found a way to lift the latch on his stall this time, but also figured out how to open the screen door to the farmhouse and show up as an unexpected guest in her grandma's kitchen. We would giggle with delight as the strawberry roan swiped a Milky Way bar from her pocket, earning the name "Candy" on the day Grandpa Oscar bought her. As her stories unfolded, we could almost catch the sweet scent of horses and worn leather in the barn and, as she took us through her ride, we would lose ourselves in the sensations of love and unity, tethered to the horse in spirit. Grandma Ann’s love for animals, especially horses, has been passed on to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, much to the credit of these wonderful stories she shared with us. In 2020, with the help of her kids, she wrote them down in her book, "Grandma Ann's Stories", which will ensure that her legacy will continue on through many, many generations to come. Marianne is survived by her 4 children, Teresa Mack (Tom Coughlon) of Pawleys Island S.C. and Highland Park IL, Jim (Melissa) Green of Pekin IL, Cathy (Lance) Brown of Leland IL, and Dorothy (Chuck) Norris of Lathrop MO. She is also survived by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Sarah (Seth) Sutton, Dakota (Dalani) Salem, Elizabeth (Chad) Bishop, David (Sawyer) Brown and their 3 sons, Jaxon, Dominik, and Landon, Sean (Keri) Brown and their 6 children, Aubrey, Lacey, Lennox, Harper, Oaklee and Maverick, Nathan Brown and his daughter Aubrey Marie, Savannah (Jeremy) Acton and their 3 children, Gabriella, Olivia and Mathias, Katelyn Martin (Chester Callaway) and their 4 children, Bodyn, Huxley, Haylah, and Capri (& her Daddy, Chris Friedrich), James Martin Jr and his 4 children, Cadec, Jimmy, Lilly and Heimdall (& their Mama, Ashley Brown), Krystal (Jon) Dewitt and her daughters, Rylee and Kyersten, Laurel (Stew) McGinnis and their 2 girls, Kiera and Nora, Victoria (Chris) Johnson, and Alexandra Howdyshell. She is proceeded in death by her parents, grandparents, many aunts and uncles as well as one son in law, Brian Mack. Marianne was a lifelong member of Zion Evangelical United Methodist Church, 3200 Cole Hollow Rd Pekin IL. Family and friends will gather for a small graveside service at her church followed by a Celebration of her Life (date to be announced at a later time.

Marianne Kay Green

January 2, 1942 - March 22, 2024