Marie Best, 94

Marie C. Best, age 94, of Edon, Ohio, went to be with her Lord at 6:57 A.M on Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at Community Health Professionals Inpatient Hospice near Defiance, Ohio, knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. To her family she was like a saint, one of kind, a woman of true virtue and integrity, a faith builder to the Catholic faith she was so devoted to. She was a true servant to God, a mother of thirteen and matriarch to five generations, building a home on love as a devoted homemaker. She also had worked for many years at the Holiday Inn in Angola, Indiana. Marie was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Blakeslee, Ohio, and was a longtime attendee at the Edon Senior Citizens KALA program. On her 90th birthday she was awarded an outstanding citizenship award by the governor of Ohio.

Marie C. Best was born on September 27, 1918, near Edon, the daughter of Sylvester and Cecilia (Siebenaler) Trausch. She married William Edward “W.E..” Best on October 29, 1938, in Blakeslee, and he preceded her in death on July 16, 1989.

Survivors include five sons, Steven (Linda) Best, of Edon, Jerry Best, of Sarasota, Florida, Gary (Reta) Best, of Edon, Michael Best, also of Sarasota, and Kevin Best, of Edgerton; six daughters, Marilyn Keller and Linda (George) Clark, both of The Villages, Florida, Patricia (James) Kiess, of Edon, Cheryl (Denny) Myers, of Auburn, Indiana, Kathy (Dennis) Fee, of Mansfield, Texas, and LuAnn Smith, of Erie, Colorado; a daughter-in-law, Diane Best, of Blakeslee, Ohio; and one hundred eighteen grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by one son, Dean Best, one daughter, Sharon Best, and her former husband, Rex Whitcomb.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2013, from 2:00-8:00 P.M. in the Krill Funeral Home, Edon, with a scripture service to be held on Sunday, beginning at 8:00 P.M. Services celebrating her homecoming to her mansion in the sky will be held on Monday, September 9, 2013, at 10:30 A.M. in St. Joseph Catholic Church, Blakeslee, with Father Fred Duschl officiating. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

Memorials are requested to Community Health Professionals Inpatient Hospice, 6817 North State Route 66, Defiance, Ohio 43512, or to the Foundation for Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders.