Marilyn Irene Brandmire

Marilyn was born June 13, 1931, in Granite City, Illinois, to Paul and Irma Brauer, and was baptized on June 21st. She was confirmed in Trinity Lutheran Church, Hoyleton, IL, in 1944. She graduated from Decatur (Illinois) Senior High School in 1948, where she graduated #9 of a class of over 400 and won the coveted Lincoln Essay contest.

Following high school, she attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, for two years, followed by enrollment in the Washington University School of Nursing in St. Louis, Missouri, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and certification as a Registered Nurse (RN). She spent her working life in nursing, serving across the country from New Jersey to Alaska in cardiology, maternity, premature infants, pediatrics, and geriatrics in a nursing home.

An avid soprano, singing in numerous school and church choirs since 3rd grade, she joined an A Capella choir and also The Bach Festival of Saint Louis Chorus while attending university. There, she met a member of the Bass section, a theological student at Concordia Seminary, and they began dating. She and Wayne Brandmire were married on June 12, 1955, in Decatur, IL.

In 1955, Wayne’s vicarage took them to New Jersey for a year before returning to St. Louis for his final year of seminary. Their first-born son, Mark, was born in 1956. Wayne was ordained in 1957 and was called to serve Faith Lutheran Church, Wenatchee, Washington, where their next two children, Paul (in 1959) and Rebecca (in 1960), were born. In 1961, they moved to Salem, Oregon, where the youngest, James, was born in 1963. They served parishes in Anchorage, Alaska, and Wapato, Washington, before Wayne retired due to illness in 1973. They settled in Yakima, Washington, where they lived until Wayne died in 2003. Marilyn continued to live in their home until her first heart attack in 2018, at which time she moved to Silver Creek retirement community in Puyallup, WA, nearer to her kids.

Marilyn was a woman of great faith who loved her Lord. She continually put her faith into action, active in the Walther League Lutheran youth program as a teenager. As an adult, she remained involved in the Lutheran Layman’s League, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and numerous church committees. She played piano for church services and faithfully sang in the choir. She served with “Feeding the Hungry,” and spent nights working in homeless shelters. She even took an unhoused woman into her own home until she could rejoin her daughter. During a meningococcus outbreak, she staffed clinics and provided care. She served on mission trips to Haiti and Kenya.

She shared a Wanderlust with most of her family, and continued to travel well into her older age, just last year renewing her passport for another ten years. Her travels took her around the world, including Israel, Greece, Russia, the Balkans, England, West and East Germany, Poland, Norway, Denmark, France, Italy, China, Haiti, and Kenya. She was especially moved by a visit to Auschwitz.

When travel became more difficult, she kept busy by crocheting baby blankets, visiting with her family and attending their events, and watching TV – especially enjoying Hallmark movies.

Marilyn is predeceased by her parents, her husband, Wayne, both of her brothers and their wives, one grandson, and one great-grandson. She is survived by her son Mark (Joyce) of Temecula, CA; son Paul (Angie) of St. Cloud, MN; one daughter Becky (Jeff) Kranich, of Beaverton, OR; son Jim (Amie) of Bonney Lake, WA; 13 grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren (with number 25 coming in February).

Visitation will be Friday, Dec 27, 2024, from 4-6, at Keith and Keith Funeral Home, Yakima, WA. Memorial service will be 1:00 pm on Dec 28, 2024, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Yakima, WA, with a private interment at West Hills Memorial Garden, Yakima.

Memorials may be sent to Lutheran Hour Ministries or Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO.