Mardella Eckstaine

Mardella Kay Eckstaine Schuppan was born on April 26, 1956 to Lloyd and Loyola (Pettit) Eckstaine in Winner, South Dakota. She grew up in a loving home with a huge family. She had two sisters, McKayla and Darnell, and three brothers, Terry, Todd and Trent. As a kid, Marty loved going with her family to her dad’s baseball games, and she loved her grandpa Ray (Eckstaine). As she got older, she was athletic and was the first girl in her family to play sports in school. She loved music, especially the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, dancing and a good time.

Marty and her husband, Butch, have been together for over 40 years, and for 30 of those years, their home was in Buckeye, Arizona. They were married on October 31, 2002 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. When they weren’t working, they were loving life and filling it with people they loved and good drinks. They spent every minute they could in the mountains and desert around their home. They loved riding their horses, camping, four wheeling and doing anything else they could get their hands on. When Butch talks about their years together, he smiles and laughs, saying, “You know, we had so much fun. We did so many things. Not many other couples got to do all the things we did.”

Marty was stubborn and unapologetic in her beliefs. She was straightforward, and you never had to wonder what she was thinking. She had a great sense of humor and believed that it didn’t matter what was going on in life, you could always have fun. She was a prolific collector. Her home is filled with hurricane lamps, beautiful bowls, artwork and stories from loved ones long gone. She was also a life-long learner. She received her Bachelor of Science in 1989 and from then on never stopped learning. Her office is filled with certificates for different types of accounting, finance, data, quality and process improvement and on and on.

Many of the greatest loves of Mardella’s life were not the human kind. She and Butch lived surrounded by beloved dogs and horses who filled their lives with joy and purpose. Its safe to say that if you don’t know Kate, then you may not have known Marty that well at all.

On Friday, August 5th, 2022, Mardella left this world after over a decade of fighting cancer. She passed well-loved, and she left a colorful, vibrant, brave space behind her that will never be filled. She is survived by: her husband, Darrel “Butch” Schuppan; her sisters McKayla (Steve) Tritle and Darnell (Randy) Novotny; her brothers, Terry (Tara) Eckstaine, Todd (Kaye) Eckstaine, and Trent (Meg) Eckstaine; her nieces, TaNeal (Jeff) Boer; Courtney (Paul) Brozik, Jesyca (Oakley) Haines, Blaire Tritle, Jamy (Kyle) Anderson, Kasey (Jack) Kerner, Mary Kate (Kobbe) Farwick, Kory (Tucker) Ulmer, Abby Jo (Rex) Treeby, and Kirsten Eckstaine; her nephews, Brandon (Laura) Tritle, Jace (Jane) Eckstaine, Tate (Trisha) Novotny, Christopher (Clare) Eckstaine, Jacob Eckstaine, Jack Eckstaine, Gabe Eckstaine, and Caleb Eckstaine. And countless dear friends and family who miss her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd and Loyola Eckstaine and her dog, Kate.

“I will not forget you. I have you written on the palms of my hands”

Isaiah 49: 15-16

A visitation will be held Friday, August 12 at 6pm at Thompson Funeral Chapel. The scripture service will begin at 7PM.