Marlene Kay Odle-Kemp passed into eternal life on April 25, 2025. She was 78 years old. She is survived by her husband Bill, her daughters, Sr. Mary Rebekah (Grace Elizabeth) Odle-Kemp and Courtney Anne Cochrell, her son-in-law, Shawn Cochrell, her two grandsons, Colin and Finley Cochrell, her four siblings, and many nieces and nephews.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, to Marvin and Catherine Odle (nee Pirotte), Marlene was raised on a wheat farm in Glen Elder, Kansas. As a high school and college instructor, she taught home economics and specialized in garment design and flat-pattern making. She met Bill while working as a garment and textile specialist in the USDA county agent system at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Bill and Marlene married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Bryan and moved to San Antonio, Texas, where they have lived for 47 years.
As an active parishioner of St. Pius X Catholic Church and School, Marlene had a deep and abiding faith. She taught at the school, served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, president of the Parish Council of Catholic Women, a member of the parochial school board, the parish wedding coordinator and many other supportive roles of her parish.
Marlene could sew anything: wedding dresses, prom dresses, and made most of her own and her children’s clothes while they were growing up. She could look at a wedding dress in a catalog, design the pattern and make it. She has been known to sew a wind-breaker from a Fed-Ex mail bag. Making quilts was her pride and joy. After making 75 quilts, she stopped counting. It would not be uncommon for Marlene to make a quilt which was intended to be donated to the St. Pius X Craft Fair, only to be talked out of donating it because it was just too gorgeous.
Marlene was a wonderful wife, a devoted mother, a generous grandmother, a kind and loving friend, and a remarkable person. She will be missed by her many friends in Kansas, Texas, and beyond.
The family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3303 Urban Crest, San Antonio, Texas, 78209 with a rosary to follow.
A Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Pius X Catholic Church.
Father Pat O’Brian will officiate. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3303 Urban Crest, San Antonio, Texas, 78209 in Marlene’s name.
