We had funeral services today for Mom. We felt that it went really well and we are so grateful for all the people who were able to attend. We promised Mom that it wouldn't go longer than an hour. We went over, but only by a little bit. It meant so much to us to see so many familiar, loving faces. We also loved seeing so many friends and family members at her viewing last night. It has ben very tough, but we are so grateful for our mom and the amazing example that she was. Our extended family has all gone home, but my brothers, sisters, their families, and I have been able to spend the afternoon and evening together. We are all taking tomorrow off as well. We'll get back to normal life on Monday! 

Marilyn Winn Green, loving mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend was born August 29, 1945 in Preston, Idaho to Spencer Tanner and Thora Palmer Winn. She passed away after a valiant 8-month battle with a very rare cancer (Mixed Mullerian Sarcoma) on April 20, 2009, surrounded by her daughters and husband. She lived in Fairview, ID until the 3^rd grade, when her family moved to Preston, ID where she spent the rest of her childhood.  After high school, she went to Brigham Young University in Provo, UT where she met her eternal companion, Edward E. Green.  They were married November 25, 1964 in the Logan Temple. After living in California, Indiana, and various places in Utah, they settled in Orem, UT where they lived for 37 years. They have 9 children and 19 grandchildren.

Marilyn loved the piano and worked hard at perfecting the art.  She had a deep appreciation for music and dance, and was a dancer when she was young.  She and Ed performed various gigs around the country and throughout their life together, with Ed on the guitar and Marilyn on the keyboard. She loved literature and was gifted at shorthand and spelling.  She was completely devoted to her husband, children, and grandchildren and loved them more than life.  She was always concerned with the welfare of others.  She had the ability to make everyone feel welcome and important in her presence with a contagious smile and laugh. She had many who respected and loved her knowledge and passion for her country, its politics, and current events. She also had a love of the gospel of Jesus Christ and she remained faithful throughout her entire life, with a strong testimony of eternal families. She served diligently in many callings, and her most recent and favorite calling was playing the piano for the Primary. She left a lasting impression on all those she knew and will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

Marilyn is survived by her husband of 44 years, father, siblings: Beverlee (F.L. Tom) Thomas, Kristine (Jerry) Twiggs, Vance (Loni) Winn, Bob (Julie) Winn, sister-in-law, Carol Winn; children and grandchildren: Curtis (Tonya)- Amanda & Tiffany; Darren (Cherisa)- Jake, Britton, Sydney, & Rachel; Marty (Nancy)- Shalyn, Brandon, Amber, & Ryan; Tracy (Daryl) Warner- Wesley, Anna, & Brooklyn; Allison (Cameron) Tovey- Erica, Emma, Chase, & Leah; Deanna (Erik) Weierholt- Kris & Dallin; Travis, Andrea, & Ronnie Green; cousin, Patti Greaves, and many other cousins, nieces, and nephews. She is preceded in death by her mother and two brothers, Kevin and Gerry.

The family would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses who cared for Marilyn.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, Apr. 23 at 11:00 a.m. at the Sharon 3^rd Ward building at 430 S. 700 E. Orem, UT. There will be a viewing on Wednesday, April 22 from 6-8 p.m., at the  Walker Sanderson Funeral Home, 646 E. 800 N. Orem, UT 84097 or Thursday morning at the church from 9:30-10:45 a.m. Interment will be at Orem City Cemetery. You may visit our blog and post memories at www.MemoriesOfMarilyn.blogspot.com.

My mom passed away this morning at about 7:45. We feel a great deal of peace in our home. My sisters, sister-in-law, and I were with her and my dad was close by. She had a very rough night and we all prayed all night long that she would stop struggling and we are grateful that the hospice nurse was here when it happened. I will keep you posted about her funeral plans. Thank you for your love and support. 

My goodness... I really am amazed at how loved my mom and family are. Her siblings who have been here from out of town cannot believe what an amazing ward the Sharon 3rd Ward is. Sister Wawro has come two days in a row, bringing all sorts of groceries and snacks for my family. We have been brought breakfast AND lunch today by Relief Society sisters. I really have never seen such a giving and loving group of people as those who have been so kind and generous to us. Please know that we are so grateful for all of you! We also love getting comments and being reminded of some of the things we had forgotten about. I am sitting by my mom now. A day or two ago, when we told her about all the food that has been brought, she said in a very weak voice, "Wouldn't it be horrible if I got better? I'd never be able to repay all those people!" She has gone quite a way downhill in the past 24 hours. The hospice aide and the nurse have both been here today, and it's becoming more and more of a struggle for her to be comfortable. She also hasn't been making a whole lot of sense when she talks. I wonder if she's speaking to people on the other side of the veil. Yesterday, my sisters, sister-in-law, niece, and I had the sacred opportunity of buying my mom new temple clothes. We were so grateful for Sis. Clyde, who graciously found someone to take over her responsibilities so she could walk us through that special process. What a blessing she has been in the lives of so many. 

We were just sitting here, talking about the spread out on the counter, and my mom said, "Will there be enough for supper? Don't let it go to waste." She's still more concerned about her family than she is about herself. She has also not lost her politeness. She thanks us even when we adjust her pillow. 

My mom's siblings all went home a little while ago, down to St. George and Las Vegas, but they are planning to come back in a couple of days. She has one brother who lives here in Orem, but the others all live down South. We really appreciated having them here. Last night, we all stayed up until 4 am, crying and laughing out in the living room. 

We are glad that we have gotten such a great response from this blog. The hospice social worker thought it would be a good idea because of how many friends and family members my mom has. People like to be kept updated, and because she can't really have visitors anymore, I'm happy to keep you posted on her status through this blog. Thank you for your prayers, love, and concern. 

We continue to be recipients of such kindness and hospitality. You would not believe the beautiful flowers we are surrounded by and all the delicious food that has been brought in. One of my mom's dear friends, Joyce Nelson, even spoiled us with breakfast this morning! Your kind thoughts and prayers have not gone unnoticed. We have felt Heavenly Father's peace in our home and I'm sure it's because of all the prayers uttered on our behalf. Tracy, her husband, Daryl, Marty, his wife, Nancy, and I (Andrea) were able to attend the temple yesterday. It was a nice reminder that this mortal life is but a small moment in the eternal scheme of things. My mom's hospice nurse, Merry (like as in Merry Christmas... fitting for our family), came this morning and brought her some things to make her more comfortable. She had a rough night last night and we can tell she's getting sicker and weaker. We'd appreciate prayers on her behalf to bring her more comfort. 

Thank you for all your sweet comments and memories about Mom. Please keep them coming. We love reading and laughing about some of the fun things we remember about her. Mom's doing pretty well today. The hospice nurse came this morning, and she was able to swallow all of her pills, so we are holding off on the morphine pump. That's good, because the morphine pump will put her into a coma-like state. She has had a few visitors this morning, and she's now resting. We have received so many kind things from neighbors and friends of my mom. We are very grateful for all of the kindness. We have also been blessed by my mom's Relief Society and friends, as they have been bringing dinner in each night. That's not a small thing, either, because there are A LOT of us! My mom's siblings are all in town and her dad even came a few days ago to visit with her. We are glad for all the company. Here are a few pictures we have taken over the last few days. 

Marty & Mom

Curtis's family & Mom

Mom & Erik (Deanna's husband)

Mom & Ronnie

Mom & Deanna

Mom & Nancy (Marty's wife)

Mom & Travis

Daryl (Tracy's husband) & Mom

Andrea & Mom

Trying not to squish Mom

Brandon & Grandma

Wesley & Grandma

Grandma, Brooklyn, & Anna- her favorite twins

Amanda (the oldest grandchild) & Grandma

Tracy & Mom

Allison & Mom

Mom & her dad, Grandpa Winn

Welcome to our Family Blog!

Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts, and concerns. I have created this blog to keep my mom's family and friends updated on how she is doing. You all know that on August 8, 2008, my mom was diagnosed with Mixed Mullerian Sarcoma. A few weeks later, she had a total hysterectomy, and we were devastated to learn that the tumor in her uterus had expanded her entire uterus, and had spread to other parts of her body. The surgeon gave us the news that she would probably only live for 5-6 months. She began chemo at the beginning of October. The chemo worked a little bit on the cancer in her bones, but it didn't have much of an effect on some of the tumors in her abdomen. So, they upped the regimen and added a new medicine to stop the blood flow to the tumors. We aren't sure if that worked, or not, because my mom had a large open wound on her abdomen because of the surgery that she had back in August- it wasn't stapled properly, and infection after infection caused it to get bigger and bigger. The chemo was also preventing it from healing. 

In December, her blood counts were dangerously out of whack, she was suffering from C. Diff (sp?) and she spent the week before Christmas in the hospital. She had a blood transfusion and massive doses of antibiotics, and she was able to spend Christmas at home with us. The doctors decided to stop chemo for a while to let the wound make some progress. She had a few more procedures to try to help that process, which were working, but my mom still has quite the wound on her stomach. She has had a Wound Vac attached that she has had to take to the Wound Clinic three times a week, where she fostered some very positive relationships with the nurses there. My dad has been very diligent in taking care of her and had the chance to spend two weeks with her on a road trip back east, where my mom felt relatively well. She began going downhill on their way home. A few days after they got home, my dad took her to the ER and she was hooked up to antibiotics for the day, and sent home. They also did a scan of her abdomen and they found that the tumors had grown. Her stomach has been extremely distended and very uncomfortable. She ended up back in the ER on Friday (April 10), and we knew that things weren't looking good. They admitted her into the Intermediate Care Unit, where she received quite intensive care. Her vital signs became more regular, and they changed her room to the oncology floor. They had done another scan on Friday, and we learned that the tumors had grown significantly, even from the scan they had done four days before. She knew then that this was the beginning of the end. 

Her kidneys have started to fail and her stomach is getting more and more distended, even after they had drained a total of 6 1/2 liters of fluid from it. Dr. Tudor, her oncologist, visited her in the hospital Monday morning and told her (and my dad, Tracy, and I who were with her) that her kidneys are going, her tumors are growing, and they can't find the source of the infection that's causing her white blood count to grow exponentially. He told her that in a few days she would go into a coma and slip away peacefully. So, we decided to bring her home so she could be more comfortable. She has been home and we have had lots and lots of visitors. We love having you come and visit, but my mom is so weak and sick that she can barely keep her eyes open. Her mouth is too dry for her to speak comfortably, and she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. She's not afraid of what is coming because she was told that she won't be in too much pain. We keep up on her pain meds, but it's becoming too difficult for her to swallow pills, so we are waiting for an order from the doctor to have a morphine pump attached. 

She can hear us and does respond to us, so if there are any messages you'd like for any of us to pass along to her, please post a comment. We'd love to hear of any memories you have of Mom. We have been so blessed to have her as our mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. We have been surrounded by loving family and have all had the chance to say our goodbyes. We have been blessed by so many people who care for our mom.