Marilyn Ruth Popp (nee Meier) of Beaver Dam, age 85, passed away peacefully at home on March 1, 2023. Marilyn was born on the family farm on April 11, 1937 to Henry and Alma (nee Krueger) Meier in the township of Scott, Merrill, WI. She attended St. John’s Lutheran School and graduated from Merrill High School in 1955. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison earning a B.S. degree in 1959.Marilyn worked on campus as a waitress at the Memorial Union; she also worked at a dormitory cafeteria where she met her best friend and love of her life, Bill. Her college summers were spent working at a resort in Woodruff, WI as a dining hostess and waitress. She was always thankful for the job opportunities that helped make her college education possible. On October 24, 1959 she was united in marriage with William G. Popp at St. Casimir’s Catholic Church in Newton, WI. Marilyn worked for 17 years as a teacher’s assistant in the Beaver Dam Unified School District and for the Beaver Dam Eye Study #Four from 2003 to 2006. Marilyn was a member of WEA, BDAAA, BDACT, NOW, League of Women Voters, and the Democratic Party. Marilyn was well-informed on current events, an avid reader, excellent cook, good seamstress, well-organized homemaker, and an enthusiastic Brewer and Badger fan. Marilyn was an active member of Sacred Heart Parish in Horicon, WI.
Marilyn will be dearly missed and live on in the hearts of her husband, Bill, and daughters, Laurie (Michael) Pierce of St. Charles, IL, Kathleen (James) Kokalof Plano, TX, and Patricia (Peter) Pokrandt of Madison; nine grandchildren, Matthew (Naomi) Pierce of Deerfield, IL, Jennifer Pierce of Chicago, Jeffrey Pierce of Milwaukee; Elizabeth Kokal of Champaign, IL, Allison Kokal and Laura Kokal of Plano, TX; Jessica (Sean) Bull of Verona, Nathan Pokrandt and Kelsey Pokrandt of Madison; three great-grandchildren, Ella, Micah, and Mia Pierce. She is also survived by sisters-in-law Joan Meier, Nancy Meier, Faye Meier, Jeanette Pekarske, and brothers-in-law Robert (Betty) Popp, Joseph (Mary Beth) Popp, and many nieces and nephews. Marilyn was the last leaf on her family tree and was preceded in death by her seven older brothers, Robert (Willa),John (Lois), William (Gertrude), David (Jane), Ralph, Kenneth, and Leroy and one sister, Elinore.
A special thank you to Dr. Seth Barudin and staff at UW Health for their excellent and compassionate care over the years. Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 8,at 10:00 AM at Sacred Heart Parish, 950 Washington Street, Horicon, WI, with a Mass of Christian Burial at noon at the church. Inurnment will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sacred Heart Parish, P.O. Box 27, Horicon, WI 53032. Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is serving the family. Online condolences may be made at www.koepsellfh.com.