Marlyn Olsen Bailey, our strong, extraordinary mother and grandmother passed away on June 15, 2018 after ninety-three remarkable years of life. Marlyn was born to Gerald Lund Olsen and Rosetta Lena Boss in their family home in Emery, Utah on April 23, 1925, the second of six children. As a pre-teen, Marlyn worked on the family farm with her dad until her younger brother was old enough to take over. Marlyn met her forever sweetheart, Jack, in high school when she was fourteen and he was fifteen. At the age of sixteen, Marlyn left school to work as an engraver at Hill Air Force Base in Weber County, Utah during World War II. Jack and Marlyn, age seventeen, were married on March 15, 1943, by her father who was serving as a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, shortly before Jack joined the Army Air Force. Jack and Marlyn were married for over fifty-five years.
After the war, Marlyn and Jack and lived in Hiawatha, UT where Jack worked in the coal mines and Marlyn began to raise their family. Jack was later hired by Goodman Manufacturing Company in sales and service. Due to the nature of his occupation, the family moved many times and Marlyn often acted as a single parent while Jack was away for months at a time. Marlyn and the family spent most of these years in Madisonville, Kentucky and Carlsbad, New Mexico.
During her lifetime, Marlyn moved over forty times.
Marlyn loved golfing, especially when playing couples with Jack. She won over one-hundred trophies during the thirty-five years she played and served with the Carlsbad Ladies Golf Association. Marlyn was also a gifted quilter and many area ladies would bring their quilt tops to her to be finished. During these times, she would sit in her family room using a large portable embroidery hoop and quilt. Marlyn particularly enjoyed quilting during the winter months.
During their retirement years in Carlsbad, NM, Marlyn found enjoyment through plastic canvas crafting projects. With the support of her sweetheart, who threaded all her needles, she created original and ornate Christmas villages, detailed and accurately scaled replicas of family homes, interesting buildings in her area, and practical items for the house such as scissor holders. Marlyn's creations can be found in the homes of her four children, other family members, and many of her friends. These handmade creations, especially the Christmas villages, are proudly displayed for all to enjoy and are valued possessions that reflect Marlyn's creativity, love, and big-heartedness toward family and friends alike.
After Jack passed away, Marlyn found peace as she renewed her love of poetry that she developed as a youth. Over the years Marlyn wrote many hundreds of poems and had over a thousand of them published in a broad array of publications with many receiving awards from the publishers. Marlyn's writings extended beyond poetry and included several children's stories. She also spent many volunteer hours through service at the Carlsbad area CART Farm store, a non-profit organization supporting handicapped boys of all ages.
Marlyn's full catalog of nearly 1,000 poems, reflecting her life history through her thoughts, feelings, and emotions on family, friends, life events, personal and family experiences, and many other subjects important to her, have been compiled and published for her posterity and friends in a priceless collection of chapbooks spanning fourteen volumes.
After much encouragement from her children, in 2004 Marlyn moved from Carlsbad, NM to South Jordan, UT into the home of her son, Jack Craig. In adapting to her new community, Marlyn began attending the South Jordan Senior Center where she met wonderful people whom she happily called her friends, traveled on excursions throughout the region, and enjoyed participating in the Red Hat Society. Marlyn always looked forward to her visits to the Senior Center where she bowled with her special friends on the Center's (Nintendo) WII Bowling team. (A shout out to the South Jordan Senior Center and their loving staff for giving the Senior Citizens a sense of purpose, involvement, and appreciation. Mother's longevity can partially be attributed to her association with them.)
Marlyn was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. Our gratitude goes out to her best friend and ministering sister, Judy Wood, along with the kind neighbors and dear friends Mom had during her last years.
Honoring Marlyn's directives, her final wishes were to be cremated, without services, and for her ashes to be scattered someplace beautiful.
Marlyn is survived by her brother Burton (Linda) Olsen of Mapleton, UT; her children Scottie (Charles) Combs of Winchester, KY, Dina Eddleman (Larry) Newman of West Valley City, UT, Jack Craig (Sheryl) Bailey of South Jordan, UT, and Robyn (Daniel) Uhlstein of South Salt Lake, UT; her grandchildren: Wendy, Johnny, Marlies, Kaylin, Craig Russell, Scott Lyn, James, Jessica Marlyn, Jack, Nickolas, Sarah Rose, and Gina Rene'; many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Marlyn is preceded in death by her parents, husband, sisters Margret, Rene, and LaNore, and brother Gerald Boyd.
