Marlene Chandler

BROADLANDS – Marlene Chandler, 75, of Broadlands passed away on Sunday (Nov. 1, 2015) at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.

Marlene was born the daughter of Albert and Hannah (Osterbur) Franzen on April 12, 1940, in Urbana. She married Robert D. Chandler on Oct. 5, 1958, at St. John Lutheran Church in Royal.

Surviving Marlene is her husband of 57 years, Bob; sons, Brian (Jamie) Chandler of Philo and Brent (Shelley) Chandler of Gilbert, Ariz.; four beloved granddaughters, Hannah Chandler of Lawrence, Kan., Alyssa Chandler of Gilbert, Ariz., Calli and Cadence Chandler of Philo; sisters, Marsha Goldenstein of Champaign and Myrna (Gary) Craig of St. Joseph; sister-in-law, Jeanne Nasados of Dunedin, Fla.; several nieces and nephews; and many cousins.

Marlene was preceded in death by her parents and brothers-in-law, John Goldenstein, Joe Nasados and Charles Reeves.

As a child, Marlene was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Royal, later transferring membership to the Allerton United Methodist Church. Marlene was dedicated to her church, serving in several office positions including secretary of the Administrative Board at the time of her passing.

Having graduated in 1958 from ABL High School in Broadlands, Marlene also attended schools at Gifford, Royal and Allerton.

Marlene started her working career as a secretary in the Bursar's Office at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she worked for more than six years. Wanting to be closer to her children, she worked as a secretary at Allerton Supply Co., where she retired after 31 years.

One of Marlene's greatest joys in life, besides her granddaughters, was shopping for her granddaughters. Family and friends were very important to Marlene, and she greatly enjoyed family gatherings, including her cousins' parties and her weekly breakfasts with her friends at the Broadlands restaurant. She was an avid Illinois and St. Louis Cardinals sports fan, having season tickets to Illinois football and basketball games for many years. She enjoyed many travel adventures to places such as Arizona, Mexico, Australia, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and her trip-of-a-lifetime to Germany in 2014 with her sisters and cousins where they visited their family homeland.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, at Freese Funeral Home, Sidney, and funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with Pastor Clyde Snyder officiating. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery, Broadlands.

In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorial donations may be made to the Allerton United Methodist Church, Carle Hospice or the American Cancer Society.