Mary Lucille Milke – November 12, 2023

On Sunday, November 12, 2023, Mary Lucille Milke peacefully went home to her
heavenly father at the age of 103, surrounded by her loved ones. She was a wife,
mother, daughter, sister and grandmother. She was a very sweet soul, had a
contagious smile and could find humor in almost every situation. She also had a
very strong will beating two different forms of cancer over her lifetime. She was
definitely someone that we all looked up to! Even if she was only 4 foot 11.

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings and her husband. She was
survived by her daughter Karen and her husband Jerry, her son Darvin and his wife Susan, her grandchildren, great grandchildren and two great great grandsons.

Mary was just shy of her 104th birthday. She was born December 15, 1919 to her
parents Oris and Audrey Rodocker in Jewel Ohio. She was one of six children; four
brothers and one sister. As a child she loved being outdoors. She played
baseball, rode scooters, and climbed trees right alongside the boys. She was very
creative, learned to sew at a young age, making her own doll clothes, and was
pretty handy with a hammer.

Growing up her family had chickens, a cow, and a vegetable garden. Her dad was
a teacher and her mother was a homemaker. When Mary was 17 her mother
passed away from an unknown illness. Mary took on the responsibilities of the
household and caring for her family for many years.

She eventually moved out west to California where she held various jobs including
working for a lithograph company making printing plates. She also worked in a
grain plant, was a trained switchboard operator and a bookkeeper in a dairy.

She reluctantly went on a blind date with a sailor who would become her husband
of 62 years until his passing in 2009. They had two children Karen and Darvin.
After Kenny retired from the Navy and started his second career they settled in
Lassen County.

After their daughter Karen was born Mary became a fulltime homemaker. Taking
care of her family was her number one priority. She was a very hard worker and
always kept busy both inside and outside the home. She was a great carpenter
building book shelves, tables, and many other projects. Her home always smelled
wonderful because she was an amazing cook. She continued her love of sewing
making clothes for her children and also made Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls as well as clothing for Karen’s Barbie dolls. After her granddaughters Cari Thompson and Angela Langslet Levezzo came along, she carried on with her hobbies making them toys like Goldilocks and the Three Bears with a hand crafted bed of wood for the dolls to sleep.

When she wasn’t crafting at home, she and Kenny enjoyed spending time fishing
at Eagle Lake often taking their granddaughters along, spending time with their
friends and traveling.

In her later years, she continued her hobbies and enjoyed her family as it grew to
what it is today. Her face would light up when her kids, grandkids and great
grandkids would visit.

She loved life and attributed her longevity to staying active and eating healthy
and up until a few days of her passing she still continued to walk on her treadmill.
What an amazing lady!

She truly was amazing, and we are so blessed and grateful for the many years that
we got to spend with her. With her passing we feel like a piece of our heart is
missing. She will forever be loved and missed dearly. We love you Mom and
Grandma!