Marlene Mcdaniel

Marlene McDaniel, 70, of Churubusco, passed away unexpectedly in Ohio. Marlene came into this world on July 15, 1954, in Florida, the firstborn child of Marshall and Orleane Wetzel. In her youth, her family which now included her younger sister Maureen, moved to Northeast Indiana. She graduated from North Side High School in 1971, Purdue Pharmacy School in 1976, Ivy Tech and IPFW in 1981, and received her MBA from St. Francis in the 1990s. Marlene worked for Parkview Hospital as a pharmacist for the first part of her career, until 2001. She then pursued other pharmacy avenues, primarily Long-Term Care, and eventually retired from Omnicare/CVS. In her retirement, she worked tirelessly helping as many people as she could: she volunteered with AARP as a tax aide, helping prepare taxes for low-income seniors for free, and also with SHIP as a certified insurance counselor volunteer, helping people navigate Medicare options. In other words, she used her vast knowledge over decades of working in healthcare and finance to help people make good decisions about their money and health. She was an active member of Trinity English Lutheran Church in downtown Fort Wayne for her entire adult life. She married Donald McDaniel in 1976, and they somehow managed to tolerate each other for the rest of her life. They had two children, Amanda and Corey. Corey died in 2014 at the age of 28. Amanda had four children, and Marlene enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren whenever she could. Don and Marlene had many cats over the years, and it was not often that Marlene was not covered in 2-3 cats upon sitting. Her hobbies included biking, hiking, sewing, knitting and crocheting in her younger days, and yoga, reading, and volunteering for the last several years as she struggled with chronic pain issues. Free time was spent traveling- camping all over the US and Canada with her family in her younger days, cruising with Don in the last decade. It was determined that cruising was the preferred method of traveling, and they had many adventures: Alaska, Iceland, Greenland, and many trips to the Caribbean. On New Year's Day 2025, Marlene and Don boarded a train heading to Florida, where their next three-week cruise to the Caribbean awaited them. Marlene left on a much longer journey than anticipated that evening, passing away on the train shortly into the trip. And this is how she will be remembered: joyously anticipating the journey ahead, after having made all of the plans and taken care of all the details and heading off into the unknown. For being fiercely kind and caring, loving her family and herself. "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to act."(Proverbs 3:27) "When we lose someone we love we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind."- unknown. She leaves behind her husband of 48 years, Don McDaniel; her daughter, Amanda (Nathaniel) Brundige; four grandchildren, Maya and Liliana (Brake), Violet, and Raven; a sister, Maureen Clemons; siblings-in-law and nieces and nephews, cousins, and other family scattered over the Midwest. Her parents, her son, her mother-in-law and other family and friends were waiting for her when she departed this Earthly life. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 11th, 2025, at Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne. with calling one hour prior to the service. The family will also receive family and friends at the Sheets & Childs Funeral Home, Churubusco Chapel, on Friday, January 10, 2025, from 5-7 p.m. Burial will take place in the Eel River Cemetery, Churubusco. Memorials should be directed to Trinity English Lutheran Church or Whitley County Humane Society Arrangements are being handled by Sheets and Childs Funeral Home.