Obituary: Marilyn Clare Graham Phares

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10/10/1938 – 12/27/2024
Nebraska City, Nebraska

Marilyn Clare Graham Phares, age 86 of Nebraska City, NE passed away December 27, 2024 at CHI St. Mary’s Hospital in Nebraska City. Marilyn was born October 10, 1938 in Kansas City, MO, the daughter of Charles and Clare Cuddy (Darr) Graham. Marilyn married Michael Phares February 14, 1974 in Phoenix, AZ. Mike died May 30, 2022. Marilyn was a retired schoolteacher and formerly lived in Arizona, California, Iowa, Missouri and Utah before moving to Nebraska City in 2019. She loved creating beautiful stained-glass art and amazing quilts. Marilyn was a master gardener and loved flowers and succulents. She and her husband spent many years traveling throughout the United States and Canada. Survivors include her children, Amy DeJong of Nehawka, NE; Terri Welch of Phoenix, AZ; son, Jon Phares of Phoenix, AZ; grandchildren, Ciara and Dillon; many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and son, Scott.

Graveside services will be held at a future date at Story Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Ames, IA. Online condolences may be expressed at www.marshallfuneral.com. Marshall Funeral Chapel of Nebraska City is in charge of arrangements.

Note: The Lawrence Times is offering Lawrence and Douglas County community members space to publish remembrances of loved ones who lived in this community, free of charge. These pieces are submitted by family and friends of the deceased and not written by our staff. Photos are also provided to the publication, and some may have been altered prior to submission. Read more obituaries here.

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