- Date Of Birth: July 18, 1933
- Date Of Death: December 21, 2021
- State: Indiana
Marilyn J. Creason, 88, of South Bend, Ind. (formerly of Bluffton, Ind.) passed away Tuesday morning, Dec. 21, 2021, at Hamilton Communities in New Carlisle, Ind.
She was born July 18, 1933 to the late Harry G. and Ruth O. (Battershell) Todd in Fort Wayne, Ind. Her marriage to Paul L. Creason took place March 28, 1958 in Kokomo, Ind. Paul passed away in 1981.
After relatively short stays in Kokomo, Ind. and Freeport, Ill., Marilyn spent most of her adult life in Bluffton, Ind., where she was a medical technologist for 32 years at Caylor-Nickel Medical Center. She retired as director of laboratories in 1998. She worked closely with her husband at the Caylor-Nickel Research Foundation and had several papers published in scientific journals, such as Laboratory Medicine magazine.
She moved to South Bend in 2005 to be closer to family members, and eventually relocated to Hamilton Communities in New Carlisle.
Marilyn was retired only a few years before the Duke University Center for Human Genetics came calling and asked her to head up a research project studying genetic disorders in the Amish communities around Adams, LaGrange and Elkhart Counties. Later, the University of Miami (Fla.) took over the project and she continued working until she was in her late 70’s. These studies were focused on the causes of Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurological disorders, pushing forward the date when cures will be discovered.
She was extremely active in civic affairs, serving as a board member, grants chairperson and president of the Wells County Foundation from 1986-1996. She also served as president of the Bluffton Park Board.
Among other things, she spent several years as a volunteer at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne and also assisted the veterinary team at Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. After moving to South Bend, she served as a librarian at the Fernwood Botanical Gardens in Buchanan, Mich. She was an enthusiastic member of the Questers, and served a term as state treasurer.
An avid amateur photographer, in 1995, Marilyn won the Honeywell Award for photographic excellence, displaying photos she took during trips to New Orleans, Alaska and the former Soviet Union.
She also had several cherished mementos from her time as a volunteer leader in the fencing venue at the 1987 Pan Am Games in Indianapolis.
The Wells County Council on Aging named her their Older Hoosier of the Year, and in 2004, she was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Indiana Governor Joe Kernan.
Sagamore of the Wabash is Indiana’s highest civilian honor.
Marilyn was a graduate of Fort Wayne Central Catholic High School and St. Francis College in Fort Wayne (now the University of St. Francis), where she received her B.S. in Chemistry and Biology.
She is survived by her son, Timothy (Melanie) Creason of New Carlisle, Ind.; one brother, Michael (Lynn) Todd of Columbia City, Ind.; one stepdaughter, Rosanna Mills of Russiaville, Ind.; and four step-grandchildren, Ryan (Carrie) Mills of Russiaville, Ind.; Brooke Burnett of Bono, Ark.; Paul Lambert of Mishawaka, Ind.; and Daniel Lambert of Logansport, Ind.
Cremation has taken place.
