Marion L. Skelton

MARION LOUISE SKELTON (nee Kruse) passed on November 8th, 2023, at age 86. Loving wife and traveling companion of the late Donald Skelton for 53 years. Dear Mom of William Earl (Sarah) and Todd Donald (Molly). Proud Grandma of Anna Lane, Jared William, and Evelyn Lea. Loving sister to Betty Kruse Boese and the late Lois Kruse. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Marion was preceded in death by her father, William Leonard, and mother, Ella (née Eggers). Dear Aunt to Keith (Diana) Anderson and family of Henderson, NV, Eric Anderson of St. Louis Park, MN, and Russ (Lynn) Anderson and daughters of Carver, MN.

Marion graduated from Harper High School in 1955 and became active in the young adult group at Messiah Lutheran Church, forming many friendships that lasted a lifetime. Marion would ultimately meet Don through the church where they also married and baptized their two sons, Bill and Todd.

Marion worked as a secretary for several entities throughout her career, from the executive offices at the Illinois Institute of Technology, to the law offices of [then] Carey, Filter, White, and Boland. Marion shared her passion for travel by booking trips for friends, family, and clients as a travel agent at multiple agencies in the City and Southwest Suburbs. She was not only active in the community, but served as the President of the Charles Carroll Elementary School PTA and the Alumni Mothers’ Club at Marist High School.

Marion, of course, loved crisscrossing the country on family vacations to Bar Harbor, Maine and southern California, to the Dakotas and the tip of Florida. In their golden years, Marion and Don frequently journeyed across “The Pond,” seeing France, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, and more. Moreover, her extensive genealogical research led Marion and Don on several trips to see relatives in England and Sweden.

In those moments between excursions, Marion could be found organizing her countless photographic memories and bragging about her grandkids on calls to her loved ones and dear ones, especially The Club and The Ding-a-Lings.

Friends and family will gather for a visitation for Marion that will be held Tuesday, November 14th, 2023 from 10 AM to 12 PM at Orland Funeral Home, 9900 West 143rd Street, Orland Park, Illinois. Services will follow the visitation at Orland Funeral Home, 9900 West 143rd Street, Orland Park, Illinois. Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.orlandfuneralhome.com for the Skelton family.