Marlys Ilene (Trudell) Kelsey died peacefully and surrounded by family on Monday, February 7, 2022. In the weeks before her passing, she was visited by all of her children and many grandchildren.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at Eidsness Funeral Home with burial at Greenwood Cemetery.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.  Marlys lost a sister to the pandemic of 1918, that she was never able to meet.  For the safety of the guests, vaccination and masks are encouraged. The funeral service will be recorded and uploaded to www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com under Marlys's obituary.

Marlys was born on September 8, 1928 in Brookings, South Dakota to Louis and Clara (Mortvedt) Trudell.  After graduating from the Brookings School System in 1946, Marlys began working at F.W. Woolworths, starting on the floor as a sales associate before being promoted to bookkeeper.

On January 19, 1954 she married Galen Kelsey of Fedora. They briefly lived in Sioux Falls before moving to Plankinton after Galen's appointment to Extension Agent in Aurora County. There, the Kelsey family grew and the couple had four children before returning to Brookings for good in August 1962 where Galen pursued his master's degree. Their fifth child was born in 1963. In August 1979, Marlys was hired by J.C. Penny as an office clerk where she worked until her retirement on Dec. 31, 1991. The associates threw Marlys a well-deserved celebration at the store, complete with sheet cake and family.

While her husband Galen was known for his gusto in the choir, Marlys was quietly busy behind the scenes at the First Presbyterian Church, where she served as a deacon, trustee, Sunday school teacher to four and five year olds, and Presbyterian Women, where she served as President. She was named Outstanding Senior Presbyterian in 2011, a most humbling experience.

Marlys was always on the go (it wasn't unheard of for a call home from her children or grandchildren to be occasionally missed) as she was active in Campanile & Extension Club, the Brookings Health System Auxiliary, PEO Chapter P and the Saturday Literary Club. She enjoyed gardening, raking and mowing the lawn (whether that was by necessity or she truly enjoyed it, we'll never know!), dancing, camping, playing bridge and having coffee with her many friends. There wasn't a potato that Marlys couldn't turn into something delicious her family devoured, particularly her potato dumplings and her potato salad, which made appearances at many grandchildren's life occasions, from high school graduations to weddings.

Above all, Marlys enjoyed being with family, and attending her children and grandchildren's activities.

Marlys is survived by her children; Craig (Jennifer) of Hermitage, Pennsylvania; Mark (Calla) of Brookings; Gay Lynn (Al) Evenson of Toronto, Todd (Rhonda) of Mayflower, Arkansas, Diane Lightfield of Appleton, Wisconsin, ten adoring grandchildren: Eric, Quinn, Austin, Jae, Seth, Caleb, Laine, Elisa, Spencer and Kelsey, five great grandchildren, and many step grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

She rejoins, and was very much looking forward to seeing, her husband, her parents, six brothers, Marvin, Harold, Meloy, Laurence, Kenneth and Donald, one sister Lenore (age 6), granddaughter Bethany Lynn Evenson and her son-in-law Ken Lightfield.

In lieu of flowers and true to Marlys's generous spirit, memorials can be sent to the First Presbyterian Church in Brookings or the Brookings Habitat for Humanity.