Marilyn "Skip" Mershon O'Mara
November 14, 2018
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Service Details
Marilyn “Skip” Mershon O’Mara, 95, passed away November 14, 2018, at Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center, Iowa. She was born December 15, 1922, in Des Moines, Iowa to Fred and Norma Mathis. Skip graduated from East High School and worked for the telephone company before entering the United States Navy. Upon her honorable discharge, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and her Master’s from Drake University.
Skip worked as an elementary school teacher for many years until her retirement from the Des Moines Public Schools. She met and married John O’Mara, also a former veteran of the U.S. Navy, while a student at Drake. The couple celebrated 54 happy years together. Skip loved dancing, walking, traveling, and spending time with her family.
She passed away November 14, 2018 at Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center, Iowa. Skip is survived by her children, Scott (Gale) O’Mara and Lynne (Kelly) Rinehart; grandchildren, Sarah (Leroy) Bradley, Adam Rinehart, Madison (Spencer Kochel) O’Mara, and Kellen O’Mara; great-grandchildren, Ashton, Roman, Mckayla, Lexie, and Xander Bradley; her siblings, Winnifred McAfee and Rex (Nancy) Mathis. Skip was preceded in death by her husband, John O’Mara; and brother-in-law, Robert McAfee.
Family will have a private burial at Woodland Cemetery at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the Animal Rescue League in loving memory of Marilyn.
Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.
Angie Zaun
11/17/2018
I remember Skip and John at all my Grandma Stiths Christmas parties. They were both so fun to be around. I know how much my parents, Dick and Sue, loved their company. They were both so very well thought of by the Zauns.
Rolfe McAfee
11/17/2018
Very sad to hear my favorite aunt has left us. I loved her and will miss her very much. She had a spirit like no other. Her humor, feisty essence, and joy in life was always an inspiration to me. Her sometimes quirky ways endeared her in my heart. She was a living example of how to be yourself in this world. I fondly remember her and my mother, Wynn Mathis McAfee, Skip's sister, would organize summer tours for me, my brother Ross and cousins (her kids) to various factories in Minnesota or Iowa. We learned how cars, candy and potato chips were made, among other things. It helped me understand the world of work and where the everyday things we take for granted come from. They also took us on tours of Hormel and the Mayo Clinic. We climbed to the top of the Iowa capital dome together too, along a narrow winding staircase. She and my mom created so many wonderful memories for us. They regaled us with tales of our family history too, so we had a sense of who we are and where we came from. Farewell dear aunt Skip, may you Rest In Peace knowing how deeply loved you were by so many.