Marilyn May Lauer

Marilyn May Lauer, 65, passed away at Royalton Manor in St. Joseph on September 4, 2012. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:00 A.M. Friday, September 7, 2012 at Stevensville United Methodist Church, 5506 Ridge Rd., Stevensville, with Rev. B. Gordon Barry officiating. Burial will take place at Hickory Bluff Cemetery in Stevensville. Friends may visit one hour prior to the service. Arrangements are entrusted to Starks & Menchinger Chapel in St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to Stevensville United Methodist Church, Make a Wish Foundation or Gift of Life. Those wishing to share a memory of Marilyn online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Marilyn was born on May 11, 1947 to Anthony and Violet (Larson) Szecholda in Michigan City, Indiana. She graduated from Isaac C. Elston High School in 1964. Marilyn attended Alma College at the IUSB/Purdue extensions and Lake Michigan College. She married her high school sweetheart, Daniel Lee Lauer, in 1968. They had a wonderful marriage and shared a love for football, as Dan coached for 34 years. In 1973, Marilyn and Dan celebrated the birth of their son, Andy Lauer, in South Bend, IN, and they could not have loved him more. Marilyn was employed as an Executive Director of Crownpointe Senior Living Center. She also worked with Health Care at Home and Hospice at Home. In 2010 Marilyn suffered the loss of Andy from his life long battle with epilepsy at the age of 36. Throughout all the ups and downs in Marilyn’s life she always had the support of close friends, Pat & George Town, Heidi Fodo, Kelly Bennett and Dave Feenstra, to name a few, and so many more through Stevensville United Methodist Church and Paul Sorce and his extended family. She often talked about writing a book titled, “If I Didn’t Laugh, I Would Cry.” Marilyn always had something to say about life using sayings such as, “If you feed them, they will come.” She is survived by her sisters-in-law, Judy Perdue and Marilynn Szecholda; nephews, Chris and Penny Perdue, Brad Perdue and Doug Perdue; and close special friend, Paul J. Sorce. Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dan, in 2002; son, Andy; brother, Bob Szecholda; and in-laws Clyde Lauer and Arlene Lauer.