Marie Francelia Gemmil

Marie Francelia Gemmil entered the world in Cicero, Illinois to the delight of her parents, Claude and Lillian Henry. She proved to be such a sweet child, known for having a kind disposition, that her nickname became Sweetie, and the nickname remained for 92 years. Eventually, her parents were blessed with a baby boy they named Hal H Henry, and brother and sister remained close until his death. Marie gave her life to Jesus at the age of 16 in a church in Cicero built by her parents. From that day on, she lived her life for Jesus, and with a servant’s heart. Marie attended J. Sterling Morgan East High School in Cicero, where she met her best friend, Val. Marie met her husband in 1946 when Val and Marie conned convinced their parents to let them go out on New Year's Eve to Chicago. After the event they attended they wound up at a soda fountain, mostly people watching as they drank their root beer floats. Eventually, two handsome sailors came in. Pointing at the one she would learn was Curtis L. Gemmil, Marie said to Val, “I’m going to marry that boy”. Not to be outdone, Val said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to marry the other one.” So, they did. After their marriage in February of 1947, Curt was stationed in Fort Magoo in California, so the couple moved to the coast. After his service ended, using the GI Bill, he finished his undergrad degree at UCLA, and went on to get his law degree at Southwestern Law School, in 1953, passing the bar in 1954, while Marie worked as a waitress to support them. In 1955, after many years of trying, they welcomed their first child, Tonya Diane. She was so ornery they almost gave up on having a larger family. But six years later, Curtis Lonnie Gemmil II showed up, and they knew with that name they were stuck with him. In 1964, in the first of many surprises she had in store for her parents, Terri Lee (aka Tera) was born. When the other two weren’t around, Marie always said she saved the best for last. Marie was a stay-at-home mom until Tera went to kindergarten in 1968. Marie then went to work as Curtis's office manager, and she made a few changes. He ended the partnership he'd been working under and decided to build his firm in Whittier, California. The family acknowledges that Curtis was a genuinely brilliant attorney, but Marie steered the ship on the business side. They worked together for 41 years. During his career, he took cases to the California Supreme Court that changed the mortgage separate property laws in California. Two of their children became lawyers, and both studied cases he had tried in their classes during their years in law school. None of that would have been possible without Marie running the office. Curtis loved to bring new technology into the office and ordered from IBM an early computer that was approximately the size of a compact car. Of course, it was Marie's job to figure out how to use it. Curt had a great idea about how to create form letters that IBM had never thought of. In the end, IBM asked Marie to come to Los Angeles every day for a week to teach IBM how to do it! Curtis and Marie had a uniquely successful marriage and working partnership. Not only did they work together, but eventually all of their children worked for them, in addition to aunts, uncles, Marie’s mother, and a cousin or two. Somehow, they were able to make everyone feel like family, and we know that is true because of the many former employees that went out of their way to keep in touch with her. That isn’t to say that there were never problems. There was that one time when Curt made the mistake of asking Marie if she thought a “legal secretary knew more than a lawyer?” Well, the next day, Marie went out and enrolled in law school. While working full time, and helping her oldest daughter plan her wedding, she passed her first year with flying colors, and then she went on to pass the “First Year Law Student’s Exam” on her first try. (This is the exam that poor Kim Kardashian took four attempts to pass.) The exam has an average first-time pass rate of 18%. Her point being made, she didn’t sign up for the second year, and Curtis never brought up the subject again. While Curtis and Marie worked long hours, Marie was a loving mother. Her children never wanted for anything, and because of their parent’s success, they lived a life with limousines, a private airplane, a beach house, and a really, really fat cat named Tigger. Among our favorite family memories are the holidays, especially Christmas, when Marie spoiled us rotten. Marie was known for coming home and changing into comfy clothes and her long velvet zip-up robe and slippers. Ultimately, however, her children took to buying her a new one each year for her birthday because holiday photos became difficult to distinguish if mom was wearing the same robe in all the photos! In 1976, Marie became a grandmother for the first time. Tonya had presented her with Natasha Dawn (Tasha), and we watched her heart grow with love for that baby. She was pretty cute. Marie continued to manage the law office, but she also opened a porcelain doll studio with Tonya in Whittier. In 1994, Curtis, and his wife Dolores proudly adopted their beautiful daughter Madison Rose. Curt and Marie were retiring by that point so they picked Maddie up from school each day, and grandma and Maddie painted together. She was a wonderful gift to the entire family. Later, with daughter Tera, she helped form a 501(c)3 charity to provide hand-painted memory boxes free of charge to hospitals around the world for use in infant bereavement programs. They ran the program until 2009 when they stepped down as President and Secretary. At that time, more than 100,000 boxes had been delivered to hospitals. After my father retired, he began evidencing signs of Alzheimer's that were advancing quickly. Unfortunately, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time. They decided to make the move to Oklahoma to be closer to my older sister, who was then retired and could help with my father if my mom's breast cancer advanced. Thankfully, she went through chemo and radiation with only one day that she felt ill. During that time, she was also packing up the house to be moved. You can see why her kids and grandkids often referred to her as a superwoman. Curt and Marie moved to Prague in August of 2005, and shortly thereafter Curtis was transferred to Parkland Manor. Marie fed him breakfast and dinner every day. Not being accustomed to leisure time, she soon "adopted" Leanne Collier and Lisa Mitchem, who were then high school students working at Parkland and helping to care for Curtis. Of course, they were always hungry and talking about what they wanted to eat, so Marie decided she'd try to make it. So, each night she’d go home and teach herself how to make that dish. Along the way, she became an amazing chef that cooked for half of Prague along the way! Curt and Marie were married for 50 years when he passed. Even though he could not remember her name, he always lit up when she entered the room. She took his passing with her usual lack of complaint, but she never stopped missing him for a single day. After his passing, she took a job at Parkland as activities director. She also cooked and brought treats to the residents and staff. Finally, her daughters pointed out to her that she was spending more than she was making on her cooking, so she turned in her resignation because she knew she'd never be able to stop cooking for everyone if she saw them every day. She continued to visit, and encourage Tera to visit with her 175-pound Great Dane, Tallullah. When she lived in town, she met the trash men every week with a bottle of cold water or a soda when it was hot, or hot chocolate when it was cold. She brought cookies and other treats to the Post Office, and she brought Spicy Pretzels and other treats to the Police Department. When asked why, she said that she felt that not very many people told them they were appreciated. That was Sweetie in action. Up until the last week of her life, she was still driving, using her computer to keep up with friends and family on Facebook, as well as “stalking” them on Life 360, and using her iPhone to text her kids and grandkids. Marie always wanted to know where her “chicks” were, and that they were safe. She talked to all of us daily, even if it was only by text. Finally, and most importantly, Marie loved the Lord. She read her Bible over and over. She listened to Gaither music, and especially loved Donny Sumner. She listened to J. Vernon McGee every morning for many years, and loved to watch Hal Lindsey. She truly lived her life with a servant’s heart, and constantly tried to think of ways to make other’s life easier. When you talked to Marie, she could talk about any story in the Bible, and regularly counseled her children in their walk with the Lord, reminding them to be in the Word and Prayer with their Savior. Her passing at Prague Community Hospital was peaceful, and she was surrounded by two daughters and one granddaughter. Her last words were, "I'm ready to see Jesus and my sweetheart” Knowing they are together in eternity gives our family great solace. She is survived by her children Tonya Mills of Prague, Oklahoma, Tera Leigh of Shawnee, Oklahoma, Curtis of Thailand, and Dolores of Montana. Her granddaughters and their families, Tasha Davis, with her husband Ron Davis, and Daughter Ava Davis of Prague, Oklahoma, and Madison Mason, with her husband Vernon Mason, and Daughters Lida, Cecilia, and Anastasia of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is also survived by a very large extended family of people she claimed as her surrogate children and offered to be their mama when they needed one. Her heart was big enough for every one of you, and we see you and know your hearts are hurting, too. Marie Gemmill's family and close friends will celebrate her life privately. Arrangements are under the care of Parks Brothers Funeral Services of Prague. Online condolences may be made at www.parksbrothers.com