Marion Leona Parkinson, May 23, 1923 — June 12, 2018

Obituary for Marion Leona Parkinson Marion Parkinson, 95, was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota on May 23, 1923 to Clarence and Cora (Jenkins) Erickson, and died on June 12, 2018 at Madonna Towers in Rochester. Her father worked for the Corps of Engineers, and she spent her childhood at the Pine River Dam in Crosslake, Minnesota before moving to the Mississippi Lock and Dam #5 near Winona where she graduated from Winona High School and attended St. Teresa College. In 1943 she joined the WAVES and served her country as a lab technician.

In 1945, while stationed in Pensacola, Florida, she met and married George “Parky” Parkinson who was also serving in the Navy. After the war, they spent 3 years in Duluth and a year in Minneapolis before moving to Rochester in 1950 where George began teaching at Rochester Central High School. Marion enjoyed being a homemaker and had many talents that kept her busy.

She learned to sew when she was 10 years old and made almost all of her own clothes along with many for her husband and children. She also worked for several years as a lab technician at the Mayo Clinic. When her children left for college, she developed a great love for, and became highly skilled at, the art of Norwegian rosemaling and leaves behind hundreds of examples of her rosemaled woodenware.

She also created many beautiful quilts that will be treasured for years by friends and family. In addition, she worked with other volunteers at the Rochester Senior Center to create dozens of crib-sized quilts for the Crisis Nursery. She also enjoyed hiking in the woods in the spring to see and identify wildflowers.

Most of all, she was a loving and kind friend. Marion is survived by her two children, Helen (Curt) Hillstrom, and Bruce (Lucinda Baker) Parkinson; her dear sister Ramona (Bob) Wolff; grandchildren, Nathan and Molly Hillstrom, Lily, Graham, and Robin Parkinson; and 2 great-grandchildren, Streeter and Keel. A memorial service at the Madonna Towers Chapel is pending at this time.

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