Marlys Pearson
Marlys Pearson died Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at Brookside Senior Living at the age of 93.
Memorial services will be held Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 11 a.m. at Anderson-TeBeest Funeral Home in Montevideo. Interment will be in Sunset Memorial Cemetery.
Visitation will be held for one hour before the service at funeral home.
Marlys Idyll (Johnson) Pearson was born August 29, 1930 in Benson, Minnesota, the daughter of Ornel and Violet (Larson) Johnson. She was baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Benson. When her father died at a young age, she helped raise her siblings: Dennis, Roger and Janice. She also helped her family by working at a local cafe, where she met a young man named Burnett from Montevideo, Minnesota. She corresponded with him and other servicemen during World War II, as many of her friends did to help the war effort. When he returned, they dated, and sparks flew!
After graduating from Benson High School, Marlys was united in marriage with Burnett Pearson on June 20, 1948, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Benson. They lived on the family farm in Sparta Township, where Burnett was a life-long farmer. Marlys helped her sister-in-law Violet, a teacher, by babysitting her nephew Kenneth. She and Burnett then welcomed two daughters, Catherine Cay in 1954, and Sue Ellen in 1959. They also became godparents to Ellen Nordstrom and Colleen Johnson.
Marlys worked at Montevideo Middle School (the old Central High School) on the 3rd floor as the audio/visual technician for the library/resource center. She trained a team of students to help her facilitate the teachers’ classroom a/v needs. She also recorded herself reading several books to aid those who could not read.
As a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, she served as the audio technician in the booth each Sunday, to record and narrate services for the radio station and home bound members. Because Marlys loved music, she was also a member of the church choir and especially enjoyed Christmas and Easter music.
Marlys enjoyed sewing, reading, and painting, but celebrating the holidays was a joy! Burnett always called her his Christmas Girl because she loved lighting and decorating the whole house! Above all, Marlys loved her family.
She is survived by two daughters: Catherine Cay (and Rodney) Graham of San Juan, TX and Suellen Davis (and Melba Avila) of Denison, TX; four grandchildren: Jeremy (and Tabatha) Shourds of Montevideo, Dustin (and Julie) Shourds of Montevideo, Thomas Clark (and Shelby) of Ft. Worth, TX, and Eric Clark of Plano, TX; seven great-grandchildren: Skylar, Kaleb, Brooklyn, Madison, Alexandria, Dalton and Dean; a brother, Dennis (and Linda) Johnson of LaPorte, TX; a sister-in-law, Shirley Johnson of St. Louis Park, Minnesota; and a nephew, Kenneth (and Lois) Gustafson of Litchfield, Minnesota.
Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband, Burnett in 2011; a great-grandchild, Taylor Shourds; a brother, Roger Johnson; and a sister, Janice Johnson.
A special thank you to all the staff at the hospital, Brookside, and Centra Care Hospice.
Undesignated memorials will be used to plant trees on the Shourd’s (Pearson) farm in her memory.
