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02/25/2020 - Glendale, AZ, USA

Marion Ansley Espil passed into glory on February 25, 2020 at age 93.

Born May 28, 1926 in Denver, Colorado, her family moved to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and remained there until she was six years old. They then moved to New Jersey where she grew up and graduated from Trenton State Teacher's College in 1948. That June Marion departed by train for Glendale, Arizona and never looked back.

She taught P.E. to many Glendale School District children before meeting a Basque sheep rancher, Louis Espil, on a blind date. They married on August 5th, 1950 at Brophy Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona.

Marion embraced Arizona life, raising four daughters in Litchfield Park and on the family ranch near Flagstaff. She always encouraged her daughters to appreciate Arizona's natural beauty during the station wagon trips between the valley and ranch. She helped with the bookkeeping for the sheep business, and was well known as an excellent cook and seamstress. She made many of her daughters' dresses. She had a great sense of humor and always enjoyed a good laugh.

Active in community affairs, Marion volunteered with Phoenix Junior League, Arizona Heart Association, St. Luke's Board of Visitors, the election committee for Barry Goldwater, Visiting Nurse Service Association, and the Make it Yourself with Wool Committee for the Arizona Wool Growers. She served on the Litchfield Park Elementary School Board and PTA for many years and worked as a substitute teacher. She loved learning and earned a Master's in English at ASU in 1972.

Most of all Marion deeply cared for her family and friends. A convert to the family's Catholic faith, and she ensured her children knew the love of the Lord. Her precious legacy lives on. Marion was preceded in death by her husband, Louis Albert Espil in 1988. She is survived by daughters Elizabeth Mooney (Ern), Luanne Robertson (Bill), Laurie Espil-Goode (Jerry), Margaret Champie (Trey) and "adopted" daughter Margaret McMicken Bartol (Tom). Eight grandchildren: Eliza, Adam, Trey, Sean, Patrick, Louis, Canyon and Claire; and sixteen great-grandchildren.

A private memorial and celebration of life will be held at a later date.

(published in The Arizona Republic, Legacy.com from Apr. 8 to Apr. 12, 2020)