Marilyn Louise Schwalbe, nee Timm, age 90, peacefully took her place among the ancestors at her apartment at Eagle Crest South in La Crosse on October 11, 2024, surrounded by her family.
Marilyn was born on April 4, 1934, in the home of her great-grandparents, Herman and Florenza (Langdon) Lamke, on the bluffs of La Crosse by their vineyard and beehives at the end of Old Vineyard Road. She was the third child and first daughter of Fritz “Fred” Herman Timm and Emma Louise Matilda (Schoennagel) Timm. From the begin-ning,and throughout her life, Marilyn, a member of the Silent Generation, was deeply rooted in the places she lived and the family she loved.
Marilyn’s father grew up in La Crosse and her mother was from Chaseburg, WI. After living in Chicago for a few years in the 1920s, her parents returned to La Crosse to start their family. During the Great Depression, Marilyn’s family lived in many places in and around La Crosse and Marilyn went to several different one-room schools. She noted that she went to 11 different schools overall, with the last 5 years spent at the same school. During WWII, her parents moved to Kenosha and Racine, where her father worked as a tool and die maker for the war effort. After the war, they returned to La Crosse, where Marilyn attended school and was confirmed in 1948 at Immanuel Lutheran on the north side. The Timm House on Charles Street, where her parents danced in the kitchen and so much of her young life took shape, gave her many wonderful memories of a houseful of 7 children and close family ties. She loved that it was only a few blocks from the Sweet Shop and Maid-Rite burgers. This time was saddened, however, by the death of her sister, Judy, from pneumonia in 1948. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Marilyn’s father would take her dancing at the Avalon on the north side, which she always enjoyed reminiscing about. During this time, she also waitressed at the Bodega after school. Following graduation from Logan High School in 1952, Marilyn sought adventure with her best friend, Renee Schwalbe, and lived in Milwaukee, where she worked as an executive secretary for the A&P companies. Marilyn and Renee had many Laverne & Shirley-type “big city” adventures during those years and enjoyed taking the train to and from Milwaukee and La Crosse.
On July 15, 1955, Marilyn married Harry “Bud” Schwalbe, the older brother of Renee, when he returned from his service in the army in Germany. She moved to La Crosse and they lived in a third-floor flat on Ferry Street. Marilyn then worked as the first clerk for the new La Crosse small claims court with Attorney John Bosshard. She remembered that Mr. Bosshard wanted her to work right up until she had her first baby and even offered to drive her to the hospital, if necessary. Marilyn and Bud moved to French Island and lived in a Longway house with an outhouse, when their first child, Michael Louis, was born in 1956, followed soon by their first daughter, Susan Leah, in 1957. They moved to Trempealeau when Bud was transferred there for his work with the Burlington Northern Railroad, and they had their third child, Laura Louise, in 1961. Marilyn liked to talk about the many trees that she and Bud planted in Trempealeau. Bud was transferred to Missouri, and their fourth child, Tracey Lee, was born in St. Joseph in 1963. When Bud decided that being a trainmaster and being transferred around the country was not for him and his family, they moved back to Wisconsin, where he became an electrician in Wauwatosa and for the City of Milwaukee, and their fifth and final child, Russell Lewis, was born in 1965. Marilyn beautifully said that when you have another child, your love just expands. Marilyn loved raising her family on Dover Street in the Bay View area where there were lots of large families, the kids were able to walk to school at St. Lucas and play on the Dover Street School playground, she had fun neighbors who held block parties, she could walk everywhere for what she needed, the kids came home when the Milwaukee harp streetlights came on, and her parents and several siblings lived nearby.
In 1974, Bud & Marilyn moved north to Waupaca, where Marilyn’s mother and siblings had moved. Bud and Marilyn enjoyed peaceful living in their houses on Cross Road and Nichols Creek. In Waupaca, Bud worked as an electrician at the Waupaca Foundry, and Marilyn worked for the Waupaca County Sheriff’s office, Moore-O-Matic, and then the Veterans’ Home at King. She was proud that she had scored first in the state’s civil service examination. Marilyn cared deeply about education. Her mother had only completed 8 th grade in Chaseburg but had worked to ensure that her children graduated from high school. Marilyn then made sure that her children went to college and beyond and was delighted to have raised a professor/writer, a nurse, a teacher, a lawyer, and a university financial advisor, all of which diverse professions reflected skills and interests that Marilyn had.
After Bud died in 1998, Marilyn moved back “home” to La Crosse, where she helped take care of grandchildren and enjoyed volunteering at the courthouse and at the ReStore. After her sister, Gretchen, moved back to La Crosse, they enjoyed getting together and reminiscing/arguing about their earlier days in La Crosse. Life was lonelier after Gretchen, her last sibling, passed away, and fewer people knew about the old days, but Marilyn still enjoyed calls and visits from her children, her cousin, Geraldine Buchannan, and sister-in-law, Sue Timm. Recently, she was able to enjoy lunch on French Island at Gandy’s Tavern (previously owned by Bud’s grandfather, Leo St. Jacque, and now known as Hillbilly’s) with her brother-in-law, Tye Schwalbe, and from the parking lot pointed at the upstairs window where Bud was born in 1932.
Marilyn enjoyed reading, gardening, antique and thrift shopping, and meticulously making exquisite dollhouses. She also loved genealogy and spent several decades gathering information about her and Bud’s family histories: the Schlichts, Schoennagels, Lamkes, Langdons, Timms, Schwalbes, St. Jacques, Erleweins, Longways/Langlois, etc. Marilyn knew all of her grandparents and 2 of her great-grandparents, and she cared about and marveled at the large families and difficult times that they survived. She also enjoyed meeting distant relatives and finding new connections and telling stories, including visiting the Schoennagel farm in Chaseburg, and having a “Schoennagel day” visiting with distant cousins while she lived at Eagle Crest. She accumulated volumes of family records, photos, and correspondence. Marilyn also loved to send and receive cards and letters and had an amazing ability to send them so that they arrived on the exact date.
Marilyn was a genuine and caring person, with a great and kind sense of humor, which was never at the expense of others. In 2022, she published a book of recipes from her family archives of recipes, From Marilyn’s Kitchen, for which she urged folks to get out their spoons and forks!
Marilyn is survived by her 5 children, Michael Schwalbe (Sherryl Kleinman) of Chapel Hill, NC; Susan Lucht (Robert), of Amherst, WI; Laura Schwalbe of La Crosse; Tracey Schwalbe (Dan Gartzke) of New Glarus, WI; and Russell Schwalbe (Rebecca Rishel) of Madison, WI; sister-in-law, Sue Ann (Kopp) Timm of Johnston, IA; brother-in-law, Tyrone Victor Schwalbe, of La Crosse; 10 grandchildren: Emily Lucht (Chad) and Matthew Lucht (Elizabeth John); Clayton Groth, Beverly Green, and Lieba Schwalbe; Julia Gartzke, Mara Kilbourn (Cody), and David Gartzke (Robin Dykema); Elias Schwalbe and AK Rishel; one great-grandchild, Arianna Pierquet; nieces and nephews: Eugene “Skip” Timm, Jr., Gail Anderson (John), Pam Timm (Barney), and Sandra Timm; Rachel Lillie Timm (Robert); Christopher Timm, and Jennifer Meyer (Erik); Deborah Ross, Robert Sterling (Kay), and Shelly Sterling (Karen Foley); Todd Schwalbe (Desiree) and Trent Schwalbe; her cousins, Kathleen (Huebner) Robbins and Gary Schoenagel; and many great-nieces/nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Bud (1932-1998); parents: Emma Timm (1910-1988), and Fred Timm (1906-1977); siblings: Eugene Fred Timm (1930-2017), Carlton George Timm (1931-1991), Gretchen Amy Harris (1938-2021), Patricia Elaine Lillie (1941-2009), Judith Ann Timm (1943-1948), and Fred Herman Timm (1946-2006); sisters-in-law: Renee (Schwalbe) Sterling (1934-2005), Sandra (Dutcher) Schwalbe (1941-2019), Carol Marie (Hubbell) Timm (1936-1996), and Carol Jean (Helt) Timm (1942-2023). Marilyn also greatly missed her cousins, Geraldine (Frederick) Buchannan (1929-2024), Lucine (Frederick) Grafft (1933-2019), and LaMonte Schoenagel (1927-2023), with whom she visited and corresponded.
Marilyn loved a good obituary that paid honest tribute, gave a flavor of who the person was, and maybe provided answers to some genealogical mysteries. We hope this fits the bill.
Dickinson Family Funeral Homes & Crematory is assisting the family.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Marilyn will rest at the French Island Cemetery with Bud and many of her relatives and friends. “Remember me in the family tree; my name, my days, my strife. Then I’ll ride upon the wings of time and live an endless life.” ~Linda Goetsch
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.dickinsonfuneralhomes.com
