Marlene Carole Wise

Marlene Shinn lived most of her life in the Vancouver, WA area, growing up in Battle Ground. Right after graduating from Battle Ground High School, she married Richard Wise. As he moved his way up the ladder with Nabisco, they moved frequently, living in Portland, Spokane, Saddlebrook NJ, back to Vancouver, then on to Anaheim CA, Easton MA, back to the Vancouver WA area, and finally to Boise, ID. For most of Marlene's earlier adult life, she loved being a homemaker. She loved caring for her husband and their three boys, Jim, Randy, and David. After their divorce in 1978, Marlene moved back to Vancouver where she started her new life. She purchased a duplex and became a landlord and was very adept in investing and putting money away for those rainy days. She worked for Waddell and Reed Financial Services in Vancouver as an Administrative Assistant and learned much about investing. Later on, seeing another money-making opportunity, she rented out her large workshop and housed up to three classic cars in it. Mom always enjoyed classic cars, and so decided she'd purchase and restore a 1963 Ford Thunderbird. She loved that car, and joining the Evergreen Old Car Club in Vancouver, had plenty of opportunities to show it off, driving it in parades, and showing it in events all over the area. Marlene later remarried, and moved to Hazel Dell, where she lived until moving to Boise.

At the heart of Marlene was her family. She loved her brother and sister-in-law and their children, and she loved getting closer to them when she moved back to Vancouver. She loved her boys, and as they grew up and had families, loved their spouses, Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren. In all, Marlene had three boys, 16 grandchildren, and 22 great grandchildren.

Marlene's faith was a quiet, but strong faith in Jesus, her Lord and Savior. She attended St. John Lutheran church in Vancouver for years prior to moving to Boise. She would often comment about praying for members of her family and being thankful to the Lord for all He had done for her.

Aside from her family, Marlene loved working in her yard, always tending to the borders, trimming, and weeding and planting. The birds and squirrels loved her, as she always had feeders full of food for them. Most likely from her younger days growing up on a farm in Battle Ground, Marlene loved chickens. In Massachusetts, her husband and son David built her a chicken house, where she had upwards of 50 chickens, and proudly posted her "Fresh Eggs" sign in the front yard. In Vancouver, she continued her love for chickens and had 3 or 4 for a while. Another love of Marlene was her chihuahuas. Starting from when her mother-in-law passed away, adopting her little chihuahua "Meegy", she was rarely without a chihuahua in her home. Passing on the tradition, her little "Chiquita" has been adopted by her daughter-in-law, Beverly. Marlene loved spending time at the Oregon Coast. Along with many trips to the coast over years, she had plenty of seashells and paintings of the Oregon Coast in her home.

In recent years, Marlene was concerned about her memory loss. As her memory loss progressed and after much thought, she decided to move to Boise, Idaho to be closer to her son David and his family. After starting out in independent living, she transitioned to assisted living and then finally to memory care. While her circle of memories continued to get smaller, she always remembered people when she saw a photo of them. Despite her memory loss, Marlene always maintained her great sense of humor and was well loved by her new friends and always a favorite of her caregivers.

Funeral Services for Marlene will be held Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. A visitation (private viewing) for Marlene will be held from 11:00am to 11:30 am, her funeral service will occur from 11:30am to 12:30pm, a reception from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, and a private graveside service will occur from 1:30pm to 2:00pm.

Marlene will be laid to rest in Skyline Memorial Gardens, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., Portland, OR 97229-2602.