MARION LILLIE (Knoll) ENGELKING was born January 15, 1924 at 1:30 am at 8545 Ferris Avenue in Morton Grove, Illinois. She died of a heart attack in Des Plaines at 11:55 am on July 4, 2020 at the age of 96. She was the first of five children born to John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll.
Her great grandparents, Heinrich and Marie Heppner, were one of the first settlers in Glenview, owning 30 acres on the corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Her paternal grandparents, John and Caroline Knoll, were one of the first settlers in Northbrook. Developers purchased their farm on Dundee and Landwehr Roads for the future Sportsman's Country Club.
Marion was raised in the communities of Northbrook and Glenview, Illinois. She was baptized, confirmed and graduated 8th grade from Immanuel Lutheran Church & School in Glenview. As a child, she and her siblings tirelessly worked long hours on her parent's farms. She said her parents always made the best of what they had and made sure there was always a little fun added to their work week.
Marion's favorite dessert was ice cream which seemed to be a daily ritual. She remembers her mom making ice cream and using the snow to freeze it and serving it with homemade jams. It was such a treat for her.
Marion's love of flowers started early in her life. She was the Prairie Farmer's WLS first place winner at the Wisconsin State Fair for Flower Arrangement in 1945. Later that same year, she married Otto Engelking, the only man her father allowed her to date. He was German and so was she and her parents thought it would be a good match.
Marion gave birth to four children and had her last baby at the age of 38. When she wasn't working on committees at her church, she spent her time sewing all her family's clothes, attending to her flower garden, canning fruits & vegetables and baking breads, coffee cakes & cookies. In 1977, she started working at Wieboldt's Distribution Plant in Des Plaines as an assembly line worker. When her manager approached her with the promotional title of supervisor, she was humbled and excited. She told him she was just a farm girl and never thought that she had the skills. He told her she was not only the best worker he has ever had but the most pleasant and competent one. She retired ten years later at the age of 62.
Marion was one of the first members of the Chicago Botanical Gardens and visited the gardens every Sunday after church. She loved collecting garden books both old and new and she loved poetry. She was an artist and loved to draw and paint. Her penmanship was impeccable and she enjoyed writing. A few years ago, she reconnected with one of her best childhood friends, and the two, both in their 90's, wrote to each other every other month.
In 1984, she bought her home in Des Plaines. When the realtor wanted to take her inside the house, she said she didn't care about the inside, she wanted to see the outside where she could envision her garden. Within a few short years, her backyard mirrored the Chicago Botanical Garden. She has over 500 plants, each of them identified with both botanical and common names. Her peonies were her pride and joy. Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. To her, this was the time of thanks, the time when the family all came together. Her formal table was set to perfection and there were always fresh flowers on the table. Her age never slowed her down and last year, at the age of 95, she was still making the family a 28 lb. turkey for a sit-down dinner.
The family get-together's of her youth were some of her fondest memories. She remembers her family dog barking like crazy. It was the announcement that her Uncle August was about an hour away because he heard the noise of the thresher rumbling down the road. Her favorite time was cooking in the kitchen with her mom, aunts and sisters. She remembers the laughing, the arguing about how much salt should be used and then the men coming in from the fields with big smiles on their faces in anticipation of the great meal that awaited them.
Marion loved to cook and try new recipes but one of her favorite times was the family tradition of making beef sausage. Everyone had a part in the production line but it was Marion that was in charge of the tasting, making sure that there was just enough Allspice. Her famous spaghetti made from her homemade-canned tomatoes, her pizza and her apple bread made for family and neighbors will never be forgotten.
In 2017, when her granddaughter, Jenny, graduated from UCSD, she wanted to go but felt with all the crowds of people and all the walking, she would be best to stay home. The Dalai Lama was to be the keynote speaker at the graduation and was giving a public talk the day before. Weeks beforehand, people were asked to submit questions to the Dalai Lama that would be answered by him. Over 50,000 people were in attendance, more than 110 journalists from around the world and it was live-streamed and viewed by millions of people all over the world. Ann Curry, news journalist, along with the Dalai Lama foundation, reviewed thousands of questions submitted but only a few had been chosen. Ann Curry announced that the first question chosen was submitted by Marion Engelking, a 93-year old woman, whose granddaughter would be graduating the next day. She asked, "What can the students graduating do to make the world a better place?" The Dalai Lama hearing Marion's age, bowed his head and called her "his sister". His response was to use our intelligence, use communication and treat each other with kindness. Marion said it was one of the recent highlights of her life that he chose the question she submitted. She felt incredibly honored.
When Marion's mom, Elsa, passed away at 100, she plunged into genealogy. She recorded every birth and death from that year forward and kept an amazing library of her family's history. She read the Daily Herald every day and the Chicago Tribune on Sundays. When her eyesight started to fail, she eagerly agreed to try a new devise called E-Z Read that uses a magnifying mouse that transfers the image unto a tv screen. She called it "her computer".
Marion loved to travel and accompanied her family to Door County every year for their annual trip in October. Throughout her life, she traveled all over the United States including Puerto Rico and Aruba but her favorite destination was Hawaii. On the Island of Kauai, she visited their botanical garden and said she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She loved adventures whether it was taking submarine rides to helicopter rides over the ocean or the more tranquil hiking to discover a flower that she had never seen before.
Her children said that she taught them to love nature, to look up at the sky and count the treasures above them. She was a loving and giving person with a great sense of humor. She was not only a mother but a best friend to her children and grandchildren. Her sought advice was always thoughtful and wise. Her three youngest granddaughters recount last year's slumber party at grandma's. She stayed up til midnight, played games and told memorable stories. In the morning, she made her famous Micky Mouse pancakes.
At 95, she loved driving her son's golf cart in his back yard. She said it was the next best thing to driving a car which she officially gave up at her 80th birthday. Marion loved crocheting and made countless treasured items for her family and friends. She also taught crocheting classes to the school children at Immanuel Lutheran School. For a short time, she also drove Immanuel's school bus. Marion loved animals and cherished her two dogs, Penny & Sera and her cat named Maggie. She was an avid doll collector and made doll clothes to match her daughter's outfits. She also loved to dance, remembering all the dances at Deckert's and Schufreider's. She loved to ice skate and her favorite singers were Al Martino and Perry Como.
She was gifted in her ability to spell and had won quite a few spelling bees in her youth. Her children say that their mom was a walking library to the very end. She could tell you someone's birthday that had passed away 40 years ago. She loved geography and knew every state and their capitol. On road trips, she would make a game of having her grandchildren name the states and then their capitols.
Marion was an amazing woman at 96 and only needed a cane when necessary. She lived on her own, cooked her own meals and took care of her garden until the day she died. She always organized her own taxes, was a whiz at numbers and her memory and her faith were her strength til the very end. She was always there for her children and always gave a lending hand with weeding their gardens or folding the laundry on a week-end visit and loved to play games with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her children feel that she would have lived another ten years if her heart hadn't given out.
What they will miss the most is her warm and loving smile, her sparkling blue-green eyes, her warm hugs, her cute giggle and the phrase, "silly boy" or "silly girl" and "where's my purse". She was a mom, a grandmother and a great grandmother that was immensely loved and will be deeply missed by family, friends and neighbors.
She leaves to mourn her children, Paul Engelking (Wendy), David (JoAnn) Engelking, Shirley (Thomas) Conley and Carolyn (Don) Vogt.
Her grandchildren, Jaden Engelking, Dyann (Johnny Dubick) Engelking, Kristina Engelking, Annette Neary, Katherine (Gregory Hadley) Conley, Jennifer Conley, Donna (Tony) Loza, Caryn (James) Rylander and great grandchildren, Justen Engelking, Nick Talaga, Kacie and Kayn Church, Reagan and Coltan Neary, Isabelle Loza and Grant Rylander.
Her sister, Bernice (Walter) Bruhn, her sister-in-laws Jane (John) Knoll and Estelle (Robert) Knoll and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death are parents, John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll; brothers, Robert C. Knoll and John Knoll, Jr. and sister, Violet (Albert) Eichholtz. Her in-laws, Albert Eichholtz, John and Victoria (Hamann) Engelking and Wilbert and Alice (Engelking) Kirschke, and her ex-husband, Otto Engelking.
All Covid-19 protocols will be strictly enforced. Visitation will be from 4-8 pm on Friday, July 17, 2020 at Oehler's Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL.
Funeral will be officiated by Pastor Caleb J. Schauer on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 10:30 am at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1850 Chestnut Street, Glenview, IL.
The service will be available via livestream on the Oehler Funeral Home Facebook page by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/wdhw7ur
Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial fund in Marion's name is set up for the upkeep and beautification of Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Contributions should be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery Fund.
Her great grandparents, Heinrich and Marie Heppner, were one of the first settlers in Glenview, owning 30 acres on the corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Her paternal grandparents, John and Caroline Knoll, were one of the first settlers in Northbrook. Developers purchased their farm on Dundee and Landwehr Roads for the future Sportsman's Country Club.
Marion was raised in the communities of Northbrook and Glenview, Illinois. She was baptized, confirmed and graduated 8th grade from Immanuel Lutheran Church & School in Glenview. As a child, she and her siblings tirelessly worked long hours on her parent's farms. She said her parents always made the best of what they had and made sure there was always a little fun added to their work week.
Marion's favorite dessert was ice cream which seemed to be a daily ritual. She remembers her mom making ice cream and using the snow to freeze it and serving it with homemade jams. It was such a treat for her.
Marion's love of flowers started early in her life. She was the Prairie Farmer's WLS first place winner at the Wisconsin State Fair for Flower Arrangement in 1945. Later that same year, she married Otto Engelking, the only man her father allowed her to date. He was German and so was she and her parents thought it would be a good match.
Marion gave birth to four children and had her last baby at the age of 38. When she wasn't working on committees at her church, she spent her time sewing all her family's clothes, attending to her flower garden, canning fruits & vegetables and baking breads, coffee cakes & cookies. In 1977, she started working at Wieboldt's Distribution Plant in Des Plaines as an assembly line worker. When her manager approached her with the promotional title of supervisor, she was humbled and excited. She told him she was just a farm girl and never thought that she had the skills. He told her she was not only the best worker he has ever had but the most pleasant and competent one. She retired ten years later at the age of 62.
Marion was one of the first members of the Chicago Botanical Gardens and visited the gardens every Sunday after church. She loved collecting garden books both old and new and she loved poetry. She was an artist and loved to draw and paint. Her penmanship was impeccable and she enjoyed writing. A few years ago, she reconnected with one of her best childhood friends, and the two, both in their 90's, wrote to each other every other month.
In 1984, she bought her home in Des Plaines. When the realtor wanted to take her inside the house, she said she didn't care about the inside, she wanted to see the outside where she could envision her garden. Within a few short years, her backyard mirrored the Chicago Botanical Garden. She has over 500 plants, each of them identified with both botanical and common names. Her peonies were her pride and joy. Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. To her, this was the time of thanks, the time when the family all came together. Her formal table was set to perfection and there were always fresh flowers on the table. Her age never slowed her down and last year, at the age of 95, she was still making the family a 28 lb. turkey for a sit-down dinner.
The family get-together's of her youth were some of her fondest memories. She remembers her family dog barking like crazy. It was the announcement that her Uncle August was about an hour away because he heard the noise of the thresher rumbling down the road. Her favorite time was cooking in the kitchen with her mom, aunts and sisters. She remembers the laughing, the arguing about how much salt should be used and then the men coming in from the fields with big smiles on their faces in anticipation of the great meal that awaited them.
Marion loved to cook and try new recipes but one of her favorite times was the family tradition of making beef sausage. Everyone had a part in the production line but it was Marion that was in charge of the tasting, making sure that there was just enough Allspice. Her famous spaghetti made from her homemade-canned tomatoes, her pizza and her apple bread made for family and neighbors will never be forgotten.
In 2017, when her granddaughter, Jenny, graduated from UCSD, she wanted to go but felt with all the crowds of people and all the walking, she would be best to stay home. The Dalai Lama was to be the keynote speaker at the graduation and was giving a public talk the day before. Weeks beforehand, people were asked to submit questions to the Dalai Lama that would be answered by him. Over 50,000 people were in attendance, more than 110 journalists from around the world and it was live-streamed and viewed by millions of people all over the world. Ann Curry, news journalist, along with the Dalai Lama foundation, reviewed thousands of questions submitted but only a few had been chosen. Ann Curry announced that the first question chosen was submitted by Marion Engelking, a 93-year old woman, whose granddaughter would be graduating the next day. She asked, "What can the students graduating do to make the world a better place?" The Dalai Lama hearing Marion's age, bowed his head and called her "his sister". His response was to use our intelligence, use communication and treat each other with kindness. Marion said it was one of the recent highlights of her life that he chose the question she submitted. She felt incredibly honored.
When Marion's mom, Elsa, passed away at 100, she plunged into genealogy. She recorded every birth and death from that year forward and kept an amazing library of her family's history. She read the Daily Herald every day and the Chicago Tribune on Sundays. When her eyesight started to fail, she eagerly agreed to try a new devise called E-Z Read that uses a magnifying mouse that transfers the image unto a tv screen. She called it "her computer".
Marion loved to travel and accompanied her family to Door County every year for their annual trip in October. Throughout her life, she traveled all over the United States including Puerto Rico and Aruba but her favorite destination was Hawaii. On the Island of Kauai, she visited their botanical garden and said she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She loved adventures whether it was taking submarine rides to helicopter rides over the ocean or the more tranquil hiking to discover a flower that she had never seen before.
Her children said that she taught them to love nature, to look up at the sky and count the treasures above them. She was a loving and giving person with a great sense of humor. She was not only a mother but a best friend to her children and grandchildren. Her sought advice was always thoughtful and wise. Her three youngest granddaughters recount last year's slumber party at grandma's. She stayed up til midnight, played games and told memorable stories. In the morning, she made her famous Micky Mouse pancakes.
At 95, she loved driving her son's golf cart in his back yard. She said it was the next best thing to driving a car which she officially gave up at her 80th birthday. Marion loved crocheting and made countless treasured items for her family and friends. She also taught crocheting classes to the school children at Immanuel Lutheran School. For a short time, she also drove Immanuel's school bus. Marion loved animals and cherished her two dogs, Penny & Sera and her cat named Maggie. She was an avid doll collector and made doll clothes to match her daughter's outfits. She also loved to dance, remembering all the dances at Deckert's and Schufreider's. She loved to ice skate and her favorite singers were Al Martino and Perry Como.
She was gifted in her ability to spell and had won quite a few spelling bees in her youth. Her children say that their mom was a walking library to the very end. She could tell you someone's birthday that had passed away 40 years ago. She loved geography and knew every state and their capitol. On road trips, she would make a game of having her grandchildren name the states and then their capitols.
Marion was an amazing woman at 96 and only needed a cane when necessary. She lived on her own, cooked her own meals and took care of her garden until the day she died. She always organized her own taxes, was a whiz at numbers and her memory and her faith were her strength til the very end. She was always there for her children and always gave a lending hand with weeding their gardens or folding the laundry on a week-end visit and loved to play games with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her children feel that she would have lived another ten years if her heart hadn't given out.
What they will miss the most is her warm and loving smile, her sparkling blue-green eyes, her warm hugs, her cute giggle and the phrase, "silly boy" or "silly girl" and "where's my purse". She was a mom, a grandmother and a great grandmother that was immensely loved and will be deeply missed by family, friends and neighbors.
She leaves to mourn her children, Paul Engelking (Wendy), David (JoAnn) Engelking, Shirley (Thomas) Conley and Carolyn (Don) Vogt.
Her grandchildren, Jaden Engelking, Dyann (Johnny Dubick) Engelking, Kristina Engelking, Annette Neary, Katherine (Gregory Hadley) Conley, Jennifer Conley, Donna (Tony) Loza, Caryn (James) Rylander and great grandchildren, Justen Engelking, Nick Talaga, Kacie and Kayn Church, Reagan and Coltan Neary, Isabelle Loza and Grant Rylander.
Her sister, Bernice (Walter) Bruhn, her sister-in-laws Jane (John) Knoll and Estelle (Robert) Knoll and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death are parents, John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll; brothers, Robert C. Knoll and John Knoll, Jr. and sister, Violet (Albert) Eichholtz. Her in-laws, Albert Eichholtz, John and Victoria (Hamann) Engelking and Wilbert and Alice (Engelking) Kirschke, and her ex-husband, Otto Engelking.
All Covid-19 protocols will be strictly enforced. Visitation will be from 4-8 pm on Friday, July 17, 2020 at Oehler's Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL.
Funeral will be officiated by Pastor Caleb J. Schauer on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 10:30 am at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1850 Chestnut Street, Glenview, IL.
The service will be available via livestream on the Oehler Funeral Home Facebook page by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/wdhw7ur
Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial fund in Marion's name is set up for the upkeep and beautification of Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Contributions should be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery Fund.
MARION LILLIE (Knoll) ENGELKING was born January 15, 1924 at 1:30 am at 8545 Ferris Avenue in Morton Grove, Illinois. She died of a heart attack in Des Plaines at 11:55 am on July 4, 2020 at the age of 96. She was the first of five children born to John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll.
Her great grandparents, Heinrich and Marie Heppner, were one of the first settlers in Glenview, owning 30 acres on the corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Her paternal grandparents, John and Caroline Knoll, were one of the first settlers in Northbrook. Developers purchased their farm on Dundee and Landwehr Roads for the future Sportsman's Country Club.
Marion was raised in the communities of Northbrook and Glenview, Illinois. She was baptized, confirmed and graduated 8th grade from Immanuel Lutheran Church & School in Glenview. As a child, she and her siblings tirelessly worked long hours on her parent's farms. She said her parents always made the best of what they had and made sure there was always a little fun added to their work week.
Marion's favorite dessert was ice cream which seemed to be a daily ritual. She remembers her mom making ice cream and using the snow to freeze it and serving it with homemade jams. It was such a treat for her.
Marion's love of flowers started early in her life. She was the Prairie Farmer's WLS first place winner at the Wisconsin State Fair for Flower Arrangement in 1945. Later that same year, she married Otto Engelking, the only man her father allowed her to date. He was German and so was she and her parents thought it would be a good match.
Marion gave birth to four children and had her last baby at the age of 38. When she wasn't working on committees at her church, she spent her time sewing all her family's clothes, attending to her flower garden, canning fruits & vegetables and baking breads, coffee cakes & cookies. In 1977, she started working at Wieboldt's Distribution Plant in Des Plaines as an assembly line worker. When her manager approached her with the promotional title of supervisor, she was humbled and excited. She told him she was just a farm girl and never thought that she had the skills. He told her she was not only the best worker he has ever had but the most pleasant and competent one. She retired ten years later at the age of 62.
Marion was one of the first members of the Chicago Botanical Gardens and visited the gardens every Sunday after church. She loved collecting garden books both old and new and she loved poetry. She was an artist and loved to draw and paint. Her penmanship was impeccable and she enjoyed writing. A few years ago, she reconnected with one of her best childhood friends, and the two, both in their 90's, wrote to each other every other month.
In 1984, she bought her home in Des Plaines. When the realtor wanted to take her inside the house, she said she didn't care about the inside, she wanted to see the outside where she could envision her garden. Within a few short years, her backyard mirrored the Chicago Botanical Garden. She has over 500 plants, each of them identified with both botanical and common names. Her peonies were her pride and joy. Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. To her, this was the time of thanks, the time when the family all came together. Her formal table was set to perfection and there were always fresh flowers on the table. Her age never slowed her down and last year, at the age of 95, she was still making the family a 28 lb. turkey for a sit-down dinner.
The family get-together's of her youth were some of her fondest memories. She remembers her family dog barking like crazy. It was the announcement that her Uncle August was about an hour away because he heard the noise of the thresher rumbling down the road. Her favorite time was cooking in the kitchen with her mom, aunts and sisters. She remembers the laughing, the arguing about how much salt should be used and then the men coming in from the fields with big smiles on their faces in anticipation of the great meal that awaited them.
Marion loved to cook and try new recipes but one of her favorite times was the family tradition of making beef sausage. Everyone had a part in the production line but it was Marion that was in charge of the tasting, making sure that there was just enough Allspice. Her famous spaghetti made from her homemade-canned tomatoes, her pizza and her apple bread made for family and neighbors will never be forgotten.
In 2017, when her granddaughter, Jenny, graduated from UCSD, she wanted to go but felt with all the crowds of people and all the walking, she would be best to stay home. The Dalai Lama was to be the keynote speaker at the graduation and was giving a public talk the day before. Weeks beforehand, people were asked to submit questions to the Dalai Lama that would be answered by him. Over 50,000 people were in attendance, more than 110 journalists from around the world and it was live-streamed and viewed by millions of people all over the world. Ann Curry, news journalist, along with the Dalai Lama foundation, reviewed thousands of questions submitted but only a few had been chosen. Ann Curry announced that the first question chosen was submitted by Marion Engelking, a 93-year old woman, whose granddaughter would be graduating the next day. She asked, "What can the students graduating do to make the world a better place?" The Dalai Lama hearing Marion's age, bowed his head and called her "his sister". His response was to use our intelligence, use communication and treat each other with kindness. Marion said it was one of the recent highlights of her life that he chose the question she submitted. She felt incredibly honored.
When Marion's mom, Elsa, passed away at 100, she plunged into genealogy. She recorded every birth and death from that year forward and kept an amazing library of her family's history. She read the Daily Herald every day and the Chicago Tribune on Sundays. When her eyesight started to fail, she eagerly agreed to try a new devise called E-Z Read that uses a magnifying mouse that transfers the image unto a tv screen. She called it "her computer".
Marion loved to travel and accompanied her family to Door County every year for their annual trip in October. Throughout her life, she traveled all over the United States including Puerto Rico and Aruba but her favorite destination was Hawaii. On the Island of Kauai, she visited their botanical garden and said she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She loved adventures whether it was taking submarine rides to helicopter rides over the ocean or the more tranquil hiking to discover a flower that she had never seen before.
Her children said that she taught them to love nature, to look up at the sky and count the treasures above them. She was a loving and giving person with a great sense of humor. She was not only a mother but a best friend to her children and grandchildren. Her sought advice was always thoughtful and wise. Her three youngest granddaughters recount last year's slumber party at grandma's. She stayed up til midnight, played games and told memorable stories. In the morning, she made her famous Micky Mouse pancakes.
At 95, she loved driving her son's golf cart in his back yard. She said it was the next best thing to driving a car which she officially gave up at her 80th birthday. Marion loved crocheting and made countless treasured items for her family and friends. She also taught crocheting classes to the school children at Immanuel Lutheran School. For a short time, she also drove Immanuel's school bus. Marion loved animals and cherished her two dogs, Penny & Sera and her cat named Maggie. She was an avid doll collector and made doll clothes to match her daughter's outfits. She also loved to dance, remembering all the dances at Deckert's and Schufreider's. She loved to ice skate and her favorite singers were Al Martino and Perry Como.
She was gifted in her ability to spell and had won quite a few spelling bees in her youth. Her children say that their mom was a walking library to the very end. She could tell you someone's birthday that had passed away 40 years ago. She loved geography and knew every state and their capitol. On road trips, she would make a game of having her grandchildren name the states and then their capitols.
Marion was an amazing woman at 96 and only needed a cane when necessary. She lived on her own, cooked her own meals and took care of her garden until the day she died. She always organized her own taxes, was a whiz at numbers and her memory and her faith were her strength til the very end. She was always there for her children and always gave a lending hand with weeding their gardens or folding the laundry on a week-end visit and loved to play games with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her children feel that she would have lived another ten years if her heart hadn't given out.
What they will miss the most is her warm and loving smile, her sparkling blue-green eyes, her warm hugs, her cute giggle and the phrase, "silly boy" or "silly girl" and "where's my purse". She was a mom, a grandmother and a great grandmother that was immensely loved and will be deeply missed by family, friends and neighbors.
She leaves to mourn her children, Paul Engelking (Wendy), David (JoAnn) Engelking, Shirley (Thomas) Conley and Carolyn (Don) Vogt.
Her grandchildren, Jaden Engelking, Dyann (Johnny Dubick) Engelking, Kristina Engelking, Annette Neary, Katherine (Gregory Hadley) Conley, Jennifer Conley, Donna (Tony) Loza, Caryn (James) Rylander and great grandchildren, Justen Engelking, Nick Talaga, Kacie and Kayn Church, Reagan and Coltan Neary, Isabelle Loza and Grant Rylander.
Her sister, Bernice (Walter) Bruhn, her sister-in-laws Jane (John) Knoll and Estelle (Robert) Knoll and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death are parents, John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll; brothers, Robert C. Knoll and John Knoll, Jr. and sister, Violet (Albert) Eichholtz. Her in-laws, Albert Eichholtz, John and Victoria (Hamann) Engelking and Wilbert and Alice (Engelking) Kirschke, and her ex-husband, Otto Engelking.
All Covid-19 protocols will be strictly enforced. Visitation will be from 4-8 pm on Friday, July 17, 2020 at Oehler's Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL.
Funeral will be officiated by Pastor Caleb J. Schauer on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 10:30 am at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1850 Chestnut Street, Glenview, IL.
The service will be available via livestream on the Oehler Funeral Home Facebook page by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/wdhw7ur
Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial fund in Marion's name is set up for the upkeep and beautification of Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Contributions should be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery Fund.
Her great grandparents, Heinrich and Marie Heppner, were one of the first settlers in Glenview, owning 30 acres on the corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Her paternal grandparents, John and Caroline Knoll, were one of the first settlers in Northbrook. Developers purchased their farm on Dundee and Landwehr Roads for the future Sportsman's Country Club.
Marion was raised in the communities of Northbrook and Glenview, Illinois. She was baptized, confirmed and graduated 8th grade from Immanuel Lutheran Church & School in Glenview. As a child, she and her siblings tirelessly worked long hours on her parent's farms. She said her parents always made the best of what they had and made sure there was always a little fun added to their work week.
Marion's favorite dessert was ice cream which seemed to be a daily ritual. She remembers her mom making ice cream and using the snow to freeze it and serving it with homemade jams. It was such a treat for her.
Marion's love of flowers started early in her life. She was the Prairie Farmer's WLS first place winner at the Wisconsin State Fair for Flower Arrangement in 1945. Later that same year, she married Otto Engelking, the only man her father allowed her to date. He was German and so was she and her parents thought it would be a good match.
Marion gave birth to four children and had her last baby at the age of 38. When she wasn't working on committees at her church, she spent her time sewing all her family's clothes, attending to her flower garden, canning fruits & vegetables and baking breads, coffee cakes & cookies. In 1977, she started working at Wieboldt's Distribution Plant in Des Plaines as an assembly line worker. When her manager approached her with the promotional title of supervisor, she was humbled and excited. She told him she was just a farm girl and never thought that she had the skills. He told her she was not only the best worker he has ever had but the most pleasant and competent one. She retired ten years later at the age of 62.
Marion was one of the first members of the Chicago Botanical Gardens and visited the gardens every Sunday after church. She loved collecting garden books both old and new and she loved poetry. She was an artist and loved to draw and paint. Her penmanship was impeccable and she enjoyed writing. A few years ago, she reconnected with one of her best childhood friends, and the two, both in their 90's, wrote to each other every other month.
In 1984, she bought her home in Des Plaines. When the realtor wanted to take her inside the house, she said she didn't care about the inside, she wanted to see the outside where she could envision her garden. Within a few short years, her backyard mirrored the Chicago Botanical Garden. She has over 500 plants, each of them identified with both botanical and common names. Her peonies were her pride and joy. Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. To her, this was the time of thanks, the time when the family all came together. Her formal table was set to perfection and there were always fresh flowers on the table. Her age never slowed her down and last year, at the age of 95, she was still making the family a 28 lb. turkey for a sit-down dinner.
The family get-together's of her youth were some of her fondest memories. She remembers her family dog barking like crazy. It was the announcement that her Uncle August was about an hour away because he heard the noise of the thresher rumbling down the road. Her favorite time was cooking in the kitchen with her mom, aunts and sisters. She remembers the laughing, the arguing about how much salt should be used and then the men coming in from the fields with big smiles on their faces in anticipation of the great meal that awaited them.
Marion loved to cook and try new recipes but one of her favorite times was the family tradition of making beef sausage. Everyone had a part in the production line but it was Marion that was in charge of the tasting, making sure that there was just enough Allspice. Her famous spaghetti made from her homemade-canned tomatoes, her pizza and her apple bread made for family and neighbors will never be forgotten.
In 2017, when her granddaughter, Jenny, graduated from UCSD, she wanted to go but felt with all the crowds of people and all the walking, she would be best to stay home. The Dalai Lama was to be the keynote speaker at the graduation and was giving a public talk the day before. Weeks beforehand, people were asked to submit questions to the Dalai Lama that would be answered by him. Over 50,000 people were in attendance, more than 110 journalists from around the world and it was live-streamed and viewed by millions of people all over the world. Ann Curry, news journalist, along with the Dalai Lama foundation, reviewed thousands of questions submitted but only a few had been chosen. Ann Curry announced that the first question chosen was submitted by Marion Engelking, a 93-year old woman, whose granddaughter would be graduating the next day. She asked, "What can the students graduating do to make the world a better place?" The Dalai Lama hearing Marion's age, bowed his head and called her "his sister". His response was to use our intelligence, use communication and treat each other with kindness. Marion said it was one of the recent highlights of her life that he chose the question she submitted. She felt incredibly honored.
When Marion's mom, Elsa, passed away at 100, she plunged into genealogy. She recorded every birth and death from that year forward and kept an amazing library of her family's history. She read the Daily Herald every day and the Chicago Tribune on Sundays. When her eyesight started to fail, she eagerly agreed to try a new devise called E-Z Read that uses a magnifying mouse that transfers the image unto a tv screen. She called it "her computer".
Marion loved to travel and accompanied her family to Door County every year for their annual trip in October. Throughout her life, she traveled all over the United States including Puerto Rico and Aruba but her favorite destination was Hawaii. On the Island of Kauai, she visited their botanical garden and said she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She loved adventures whether it was taking submarine rides to helicopter rides over the ocean or the more tranquil hiking to discover a flower that she had never seen before.
Her children said that she taught them to love nature, to look up at the sky and count the treasures above them. She was a loving and giving person with a great sense of humor. She was not only a mother but a best friend to her children and grandchildren. Her sought advice was always thoughtful and wise. Her three youngest granddaughters recount last year's slumber party at grandma's. She stayed up til midnight, played games and told memorable stories. In the morning, she made her famous Micky Mouse pancakes.
At 95, she loved driving her son's golf cart in his back yard. She said it was the next best thing to driving a car which she officially gave up at her 80th birthday. Marion loved crocheting and made countless treasured items for her family and friends. She also taught crocheting classes to the school children at Immanuel Lutheran School. For a short time, she also drove Immanuel's school bus. Marion loved animals and cherished her two dogs, Penny & Sera and her cat named Maggie. She was an avid doll collector and made doll clothes to match her daughter's outfits. She also loved to dance, remembering all the dances at Deckert's and Schufreider's. She loved to ice skate and her favorite singers were Al Martino and Perry Como.
She was gifted in her ability to spell and had won quite a few spelling bees in her youth. Her children say that their mom was a walking library to the very end. She could tell you someone's birthday that had passed away 40 years ago. She loved geography and knew every state and their capitol. On road trips, she would make a game of having her grandchildren name the states and then their capitols.
Marion was an amazing woman at 96 and only needed a cane when necessary. She lived on her own, cooked her own meals and took care of her garden until the day she died. She always organized her own taxes, was a whiz at numbers and her memory and her faith were her strength til the very end. She was always there for her children and always gave a lending hand with weeding their gardens or folding the laundry on a week-end visit and loved to play games with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her children feel that she would have lived another ten years if her heart hadn't given out.
What they will miss the most is her warm and loving smile, her sparkling blue-green eyes, her warm hugs, her cute giggle and the phrase, "silly boy" or "silly girl" and "where's my purse". She was a mom, a grandmother and a great grandmother that was immensely loved and will be deeply missed by family, friends and neighbors.
She leaves to mourn her children, Paul Engelking (Wendy), David (JoAnn) Engelking, Shirley (Thomas) Conley and Carolyn (Don) Vogt.
Her grandchildren, Jaden Engelking, Dyann (Johnny Dubick) Engelking, Kristina Engelking, Annette Neary, Katherine (Gregory Hadley) Conley, Jennifer Conley, Donna (Tony) Loza, Caryn (James) Rylander and great grandchildren, Justen Engelking, Nick Talaga, Kacie and Kayn Church, Reagan and Coltan Neary, Isabelle Loza and Grant Rylander.
Her sister, Bernice (Walter) Bruhn, her sister-in-laws Jane (John) Knoll and Estelle (Robert) Knoll and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death are parents, John and Elsa (Heppner) Knoll; brothers, Robert C. Knoll and John Knoll, Jr. and sister, Violet (Albert) Eichholtz. Her in-laws, Albert Eichholtz, John and Victoria (Hamann) Engelking and Wilbert and Alice (Engelking) Kirschke, and her ex-husband, Otto Engelking.
All Covid-19 protocols will be strictly enforced. Visitation will be from 4-8 pm on Friday, July 17, 2020 at Oehler's Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL.
Funeral will be officiated by Pastor Caleb J. Schauer on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 10:30 am at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1850 Chestnut Street, Glenview, IL.
The service will be available via livestream on the Oehler Funeral Home Facebook page by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/wdhw7ur
Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial fund in Marion's name is set up for the upkeep and beautification of Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Contributions should be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery Fund.
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