Marlene E. Yarosevich, 78 of Sioux City, Iowa passed away Friday, August 12, 2022. Services will be held 10:00am Saturday, August 20, 2022, at the Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City, 4125 Orleans Ave. Private Burial will be held. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

June 14, 1944 - August 12, 2022.  Two dates separated by a dash; it's the dash that matters.  Marlene Elizabeth Yarosevich had a dash that helped and improved the lives of many.

Marlene was born on Flag Day 1944 to loving parents Joseph and Agnes Forsberg in rural Laurel, Nebraska, on the family farm.  Later in her adult life, she would celebrate the farm, with her dad and sisters, becoming a Nebraska Century Farm.

Growing up in a country school and spending Sundays with her family at church, Marlene deeply loved Jesus and the Bible, reading the bible and singing the good old hymns until her final days.  She would attend Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, meeting lifelong friends who stayed in touch with each other through cards, phone calls, letters, and, more recently, Facebook.

Following college, Marlene entered the work world, where she spent many dedicated years serving in the medical field at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center and finally with Siouxland Regional Health.  Many of her years were spent working with patients to find ways to pay their hospital bills with her trademark kindness, love, and of course, an office decorated for every season, including some we didn’t even know about.

Marlene met the love of her life in 1969 through a mutual friend.  On February 13, 1971, Marlene was united in marriage to Aleck Yarosevich. The couple honeymooned at Disneyland. In 1976, Marlene and Aleck were blessed with their first and only child Justin Yarosevich.

She was extremely proud of her grandsons’ musical talents, which she was sure they inherited from her. Joe’s love of farming reminded her of her father, Joseph (although she secretly wished grandson Joe would have loved John Deere machinery more than the red and orange stuff). Ben’s passion for cooking matched her passion and skills in the kitchen. Marlene treasured her regular communication with niece Danielle.

Marlene loved caring for others; whether neighbors, friends, or hospital patients, she and Aleck were always willing to help a friend.  She also enjoyed cooking, ensuring fresh cookies, homemade pie, or cake was included in holiday meals and birthdays.  In their post-retirement years, they volunteered for the Sioux City Police Department and were active members of their church family.  Marlene also enjoyed spending time with her son and grandsons, going to games and musical events, or just hanging out talking about the crops with Joe and teaching Ben how to make her special party mix.

Over the past few months, Marlene’s lungs began to grow tired and weak, and while she knew and was at peace with what was to come, she kept her equal parts of spunk, sass, and love as she transitioned to a new stage.  She loved her special and outstanding care team, calling all of them “Sunshine,” and they truly were the sunshine in her final days.

On August 12th, with her family and care team around her, Marlene said goodbye to her family on Earth and joined her loving parents in Heaven singing the old gospel hymns and anxiously awaiting when we all will be together again.

Marlene, wife, mother, grandma, sister, and friend made the dash count in her life and the lives of all those who loved and knew her.  She lived a caring and loving life, leaving a legacy for others to follow.  She is loved and will be missed but never forgotten.

Left to carry forward the goodwill and love for family are her husband, Aleck Yarosevich, son, Justin Langner Yarosevich, daughter-in-law, Melanie Langner Yarosevich, and grandsons, Joseph and Benjamin, also cherishing her memories are her two sisters, and their families, Janice Kamrath (husband Vern, daughter Tonya), Elanie Reynolds (husband Doug, daughter Danielle), extended family, and friends.

The family of Marlene Elizabeth Yarosevich asks friends and family to consider in place of flowers, gifts, and memorials, to schedule a day with family to bake some sweet treats to enjoy and share with your neighbors.  To show kindness and love one block and one neighbor at a time in honor of Marlene.