Marilyn Kranawetter

Marilyn Kaye Kranawetter, 79, of Jackson, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at Mercy Hospital Southeast in Cape Girardeau.

She was born March 31, 1945, in East Prairie to Harry B. and Lois Farrenburg Russell. She and Ervin Kranawetter were married July 1, 1989, in East Prairie.

Marilyn attended Anniston Elementary School and was a 1963 graduate of East Prairie High School. Her church home was First Christian Church in East Prairie.

She was employed at Ferguson Medical Clinic in Sikeston and C.B. Forms in East Prairie. In 1989, she began working as a dispatcher for K&R Log and Lumber in Jackson, Missouri, where she also briefly drove a truck with her husband. She had a lifelong passion for raising and showing reining horses.

To cherish her memory, she leaves her husband of nearly 35 years, Ervin Kranawetter of Jackson, Missouri; two children, Russell (Tami) Helms of Jackson, Tennessee, and Leslie (Bill) Payne of Choctaw, Oklahoma; two stepsons, Richard E. “Red” (Vera) Kranawetter and Douglas (Nikki) Kranawetter, both of Patton; eight grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; two siblings, Janie (Jerry) Maxwell and Harry B. (Diane) Russell, both of East Prairie; and Ervin’s siblings, Roy Kranawetter and Robert (Karen) Kranawetter, both of Jackson, Missouri; several nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a stepgrandson, Sam; and a brother, Dickey Russell.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 5, at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Brother Martin Lucas will conduct the funeral at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 6, at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

If considering a memorial donation, the family suggests Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship or the Arthritis Foundation.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by clicking on the tribute wall tab above Marilyn’s obituary article at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.