Marilyn V. Hovey, age 85, of Harmony, Minn., died Friday, November 17, 2017, at Ostrander Care Center in Ostrander, Minn. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 21, 2017. at Greenfield Lutheran Church in Harmony, Minn. Friends may call on Tuesday from 10 a.m. until time of services at the church. Internment will follow at Greenfield Cemetery, Harmony.
Marilyn was born August 24, 1932 in Beaver Township, Fillmore County, Minn., to Hardie and Clara (Aarness) Thoreson. She graduated from LeRoy High School in LeRoy, Minn., and attended Luther College for one year. On June 14, 1952, she married Wayne Hovey at Ostrander Lutheran church. Marilyn and Wayne raised a family of their own on the same farm he grew up on. They lived on that farm until September of 2009 when they moved to Harmony.
Marilyn’s kitchen was always open and everyone was welcome at her table. Sunday dinners were especially important with an abundance of food for all to share. Her homemade buns were always a favorite, as well as her lefse. She was proud of her Scandinavian heritage and taught her children several Norwegian prayers.
Her faith and family were her highest priority in life. Her grandchildren brought her a great amount of joy and would spend endless hours at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa.
Marilyn is survived by five children: Kandace (Chris) Johnson of Harmony, Wayne G. (Sue) Hovey of Preston, Kyle (Desiree) Hovey of Milton, Wis., Rick (Karla) Hovey of Winona, and Lisa Eckhart of Minneapolis; 10 grandchildren: Nicole (Josh) Hovey, Breanne (Thomas) Kinnunen, Sierra (Kyle) Tollefson, Spencer (Kinzee) Hovey, Kelsey Eckhart, Matthew Hovey, Adam (Sydney) Eckhart, Abby (Matt) Eckhart, Jason (Tara) Peterson, and Joe Holmes; four great-grandchildren: Caden and Carson Knoepke, Hadley Tollefson, and Sutter Hovey as well as many other nieces and nephews.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband Wayne, parents, brother Vernon, and sister Lorraine.