Obituary of Marcelle F. Sullens

Marcelle Fern (Fernand) Engel Sullens was born to John and Ida Engel on Feb. 16, 1930 in Columbus, Nebraska. She was the youngest of seven children (4 brothers: Roland, Werner, John & Herbert; and 2 sisters: Lucille & Alice) that grew up on the family farm in Platte County Nebraska, located on U.S. Highway 30: 8 miles west of Columbus and 2 miles west of Duncan, Nebraska. The property was located between the Loup and Platte Rivers, on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad. She had many happy memories of life on the spacious farm, which included a large garden, orchard, and full assortment of farm animals. There were the many hours spent hunting snakes and snapping turtles in Ludwig creek with her favorite dog “Patsy”. She remembers walking in bare feet through the soil her father had freshly plowed, and raiding sparrows nests for eggs in the barn and grainery. There was hunting in the nearby woods for delicious morel mushrooms, which her mother sautéed in butter. She remembers her mother’s scrumptious Swiss-German cooking: rösti (fried potato dish), zopf (züpfe) or Swiss braided bread, creamed chicken with pimentos over toast, fresh apple pie, homemade soups, and a full assortment of home grown meats, garden vegetables, and fruits. Under the supervision of her older brother Werner, “Marce” participated in 4H, showing and receiving awards for her Rock Island Red chickens at the County fair. The Platte River was an endless source of entertainment for Marce, sister Alice, and brother Herb where they enjoyed fishing for carp and catfish. They listened intently to spooky shows, such as Gang Busters and Inner Sanctum Mysteries, on a battery powered Zenith radio hooked up to a wind charger. Marcelle attended school in Duncan until the middle of 8th grade, when the family moved off the farm and relocated to Columbus. She finished her schooling in Columbus, graduating from Kramer High School in 1947. Marcelle excelled in high school typing, short hand, and bookkeeping courses, with plans to attend Business College in Omaha or Lincoln. However this all changed when, right after graduation, the family moved to Denver, Colorado. There she married for a short time, and had one daughter named Sandra. She worked for various companies making flies for fishing, baby formula and artificial eyes. She was also employed by one of the hospitals to assist with donor mailings and fund drives. In 1953, the Engel family was enticed by older brother “Johnny” to relocate to a better life in Oregon. Marcelle, her daughter Sandra, and mother Ida, traveled to Portland by train and then on to Eugene by car (father John stayed behind to sell the house at 1666 Chester Street in Aurora, a suburb of Denver). Marcelle worked for eight years in Eugene nursing homes: Garber’s and the Ivorina. Seeking a better life, she spent a year working in Boise, Idaho. When she returned to Oregon, she worked in three different Salem canneries: Doles (pears), Delmonte (green beans), Birds Eye (broccoli). Marcelle vividly remembers the long hours and hard work on the noisy graveyard shift with dizzying conveyor belts, stacked deep with fresh green beans to sort. Eventually she secured a job with better working conditions at Salem General Hospital. During this time, she caught the attention of a handsome young man named Claud Sullens, who persistently courted her. Whenever possible, he picked her up from work at the hospital, in his shiny black Chevrolet Impala with 10 custom taillights. The rest is history, they were married on Feb. 7, 1964 and she moved from Salem to Willamina, Oregon. Claud worked for the Bureau of Public Roads, operating heavy road building equipment high up in mountains of the Coast Range. In 1965, he underwent a serious back surgery which forever changed their lives. Claud was left permanently disabled and unable to return to his former occupation. In 1966, the couple relocated to Portland, for his rehabilitation through Goodwill Industries. Marcelle worked several years at Goodwill, first as a floor lady in the laundry, then as assistant floor lady in sewing, and finally in an office position in maintenance. Marcelle next went to work for Plaid Pantry stores, proudly driving her new 1969 Datsun 510 all over Portland as a route merchandiser. In 1972, the couple purchased a home at 6407 S.E. May Street. After retirement they enjoyed life at the home, located along Johnson Creek, with a special beloved four-legged friend…Suzette the tabby cat. Marcelle and Claud loved to travel Oregon and Washington, from the coast to the mountains, to the desert of Eastern Oregon. In the early years, they made frequent trips to the Engel home at 835 West 12th Street in Eugene, to enjoy family get-togethers and holidays. At the family home in Eugene, Marcelle remembers picking buckets of luscious “Black Republican” cherries, from the stately tree in the backyard. Marcelle and Claud loved trout fishing, and were frequently spotted at handicapped fishing docks near mountain streams and lakes. Trillium Lake, at the base of Mount Hood, was a favorite spot and the source of countless happy times fishing with family and friends. They spent many hours dining and socializing at Mall 205 Old Country Buffet, and regularly sat at a table located along “the strip”. In 2000, Marcelle and Claud sold their home and relocated to The Village Retirement Community on South East Powell Boulevard, in Gresham. Claud passed away less than a year later, in December of 2001. Marcelle continued to reside at The Village for the next 9 years and loved attending Bible Studies and services at Mountain View Christian Church. During this time she traveled extensively, first to visit her surviving siblings: Werner in Florida, Alice in Kansas, and Lucille in Arizona. Then after more than 60 years, she made a long awaited return to Columbus, Nebraska, her birthplace. She attended the annual Engel-Ernst reunion four years in a row, establishing and rekindling relationships and friendships with many relatives from across the country. Visits were arranged to the Engel farm, where inside the old farmhouse, she was able to return to the upstairs bedroom where she slept as a child. Marcelle also made two trips to the Big Island of Hawaii, where she walked the beaches, and hiked out to the volcano at midnight, in her “volcano shoes”, to watch hot lava tumble into the sea. In September 2008, she traveled for 10 days to visit the homeland of her mother and ancestors: Switzerland. She traveled to many cities in Switzerland including Geneva, Zurich, St. Moritz, Berne, Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt, Gruyere, Lugano, and more. Marcelle remembers watching the parade of cows (“Aplabfahrt” or “Alpabzug”) coming down from the mountains and parading through the streets, after spending Summer months on the higher pastures. The cows wore colorful headgear, with flowers and ribbons entwined in their horns. Marcelle made a special trip to Aarwangen, a rural village in the Swiss Canton of Bern. This village on the River Aare, was the ancestral home of her grandparents, and the birthplace place of her mother Ida, in December 1892. Marcelle enjoyed all things Swiss: delicious chocolates, Swiss cheese, lively polkas and yodeling, alphorn music, edelweiss & mountain wild flowers, cow bells, traditional Alpine dress or dirndl, and the stunning majestic scenery of the Swiss Alps. In December 2009, Marcelle was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She often remarked about all the wonderful people she met and all she learned, during her three-year journey with this unmerciful unrelenting disease. She so appreciated and adored her oncologist/surgeon and the entire team at Northwest (now Compass) Cancer Specialists. Without their tender loving care, she would not have enjoyed the past three years with family and friends. She often reminisced about her 15-month stay in a warm group home ran by the Avram’s, followed by her lovely apartment home at Gresham Manor. After a second surgery in April 2012, she raved about her great 3-week rehabilitation at Holiday Park Plaza. In June 2012, due to lingering medical concerns, she moved to a lovely apartment in Summerplace Assisted Living. There she enjoyed meals, socializing with staff and her housemates, and walking the halls, tracking her every step with a pedometer. By the end of August 2012, her cancer was untreatable and she was placed on hospice. She so appreciated all the visits and tender loving care provided by the staff of Summerplace and Signature Hospice. Her faith in God never waivered, and with her beloved Chaplain and Daughter by her side, she left this earth, accompanied by the angels at 5:10 pm on December 3, 2012. A very special lady, she will be missed on earth by all who knew her. Service Information