Marilyn Nance Austin, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on April 16, 2023. After many years of reading the newspaper to “see if she was still alive,” she has finally made it into the obituaries. She was born on May 10th, 1942 to Gloreta (Williams) and Rex Nance in Muskogee, OK. Now, we aren’t really sure her true age, she was either “27 1/2” or 23 like her grandson Seth who was born on her birthday, but it certainly wasn’t 80! She was the “perfect child.” When she was almost a year old, her baby brother, Robert, was born and according to Marilyn “ruined” her “perfect childhood.”
Marilyn grew up in the Village, she knew it like the back of her hand. She could tell us every house that her dad built in the area. She was proud to be a John Marshall Bear and loved serving on reunion committees. Her childhood friends meant the world to her. She spent much of her time keeping up with who was doing what and passing it along via conversation or a mysterious mailed envelope with newspaper clippings. When her son, Shawn, was young, Marilyn ventured outside of the Village. They moved to Deer Creek where she loved to host family and friends for get togethers. She became very involved with the TeePee Church and the Deer Creek Community; they became family to her.
Marilyn worked for many years outside the home but her first love was being a part of her sons’ lives. Her claim to fame was keeping the pantry stocked with Frosted Flakes for Shawn’s friend, Kurt McGraw, and her nephew Ryan. When Marilyn and her youngest son, Jason, moved to Edmond she became a baseball mom and loved it. She drove many of Jason’s friends around to practices, tournaments, and games. The adventures in the Red Rocket were many and it has been said that she was a saint for putting up with the craziness. Those boys sure loved to play pranks on her. She said, “good grief” a lot during those times.
Marilyn’s family and friends have lots of funny memories to last a lifetime and will miss being given orders like “fill my blue cup” any time we visited. The Austin family promises to keep her legacy of family love, faithful friendships, sarcasm, and stubbornness alive.
She is preceded in death by her parents and grandson, Joshua. Marilyn is survived by her brother, Robert [Sandy] Nance of Colorado; her sons, Shawn [Kari] Austin of Minnesota and Jason [Holly] Austin of Oklahoma. She leaves behind five beautiful grandchildren, Lauren, Seth, Riley, Keely, and Kolby Austin; nephew Ryan and many cousins and friends. Services will be held 2pm Friday, April 21, 2023 in the Chapel at Village Baptist Church. The family would like to thank the nurses at Mercy Hospital and Parc Place, the Chickasaw Nation and many friends and family for their support durning this time.
