Marilyn Dahl Brose

At age 88 Marilyn passed away on July 20th, 2023 at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville after suffering a massive stroke. She was much loved by her family, family pets, and friends. Marilyn was born August 13, 1934 in Clear Lake South Dakota. She was second generation Norwegian American; her parents were Henry Dahl and Lillian (Buus) Dahl. She had one older sister Marlys Turner who passed in the later 1990s. Her parents were big advocates of both girls getting a proper education and Marilyn graduated from Clear Lake Highschool in 1952. Marilyn then went on to study at South Dakota State College (now University) to study Nursing. A year later Marilyn met her future husband Vernon Brose in Brookings South Dakota. One evening when she and her friends Donna Boekelheide and Susie Martin were walking home, a driver passed them and called out asking if they wanted a ride. The driver was persistent and the passenger (Vern) was deeply embarrassed by his friend's behavior. They eventually made a date to go roller skating and to go see a movie. Marilyn continued with her studies and Vern had gone off to visit a friend out of state for a bit. She had done a couple of rotations at hospitals outside of Brookings and had missed a letter from Vernon explain he had enrolled in SDSC and asking if they could see each other again. When she returned to campus she and her friend had picked up all of their accumulated mail and Marilyn was reading the letter from Vern as she left the office. Someone held the door open for her and she mumbled her thanks and kept reading. Vernon was the man holding the door open for her! Since she seemed didn't acknowledge him and hadn't returned his letter he assumed she wasn't interested in pursuing anything. But she then responded to his letter and they started to date; getting engaged on Valentine's Day. They married on December 23, 1956 and celebrated 52 years of marriage before Vern's passing in 2009. In that same year Marilyn graduated from South Dakota State College in one of the first baccalaureate Nursing programs in the midwest. She initially stayed in Public Health in Brookings SD. There were no mandates for that position so they were able to design their own program. They moved around the country quite often for various positions and family reasons. In 1959 they moved to Delaware for Vern to attend University of Delaware for his Master’s degree; Marilyn worked at the State Board of Health as a senior public health nurse with supervisory responsibilities. They moved to Central Pennsylvania in 1967. By that time they had one daughter, Nan Clements, and their mutt Chopper in tow. Marilyn bought their home in Shamokin Dam, and they never lived elsewhere. She began working for the Shikellamy School District until retirement in 1990. Marilyn enjoyed knitting and other handwork and chatting with friends over many cups of coffee. In retirement she became very interested in her family’s genealogy and managed to track down relatives that still live in Norway (where her grandfather emigrated from) In 2002 she, Nan and granddaughters Samantha and Jillian took a trip throughout Norway visiting many sites and visiting with family. Both granddaughters attended and graduated from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove. Marilyn loved having her grandkids close by and attended Jill's shows, Sam's presentations, and various on campus events such as Candlelight. She and Vernon were members of Zion Lutheran Church in Sunbury. She is survived by one daughter Nanette Clements of Bear Delaware, two grandaughters Samantha Clements of Brooklyn,New York and Jillian Clements and her future grandson-in-law Russell Kerr of Denver Colorado. As well as various animal family members. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please no flowers, memorials, and other offerings sent to the house.