Marcella (Mackprang) Linker

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Biography

During WWII she served in the Marines. She married Clifford Linker 17 Jul 1944 while he was in the Navy. After Cliff completed his service in the US Navy they moved back to the family home on Altgeld street in Chicago.

Marcella (Mackprang) Linker, age 96, passed away peacefully on October 28, 2017 at Oakwood Lutheran Homes in Madison, WI.

She was born on July 17, 1921 in Chicago, IL to Fred C. and Adeline (Fromm) Mackprang. She grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago, and graduated from Foreman High School in 1939.

Marcella worked in the insurance industry for a couple of years at both independent and family-owned agencies in downtown Chicago, prior to her enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII where she achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. She was stationed in Washington D.C. during the war, and it was there that she met her future husband, Clifford Linker, who was a midshipman at the Naval Academy in Annapolis MD. After his graduation from the Academy they were married in Chicago on July 17, 1944. Once the war was over, they lived on various Naval bases until Cliff resigned his commission in 1949 and they moved back to Chicago to raise their family.

Marcella was an active member of her church, enjoyed many close friendships, and spent as much time as possible with her extended family. After spending the 50's and early 60's as a stay-at-home mom, she re-entered the workforce in the late '60's by taking a job as secretary for Medill Lutheran Church in Chicago and worked there until retirement.

In 1986 Marcella and Cliff moved to Elgin, IL. They spent time traveling and enjoyed visiting their friends, children and grandchildren. They were active members of Messiah Lutheran Church while living in Elgin. They decided to move to Madison, WI in 2004 to live at Oakwood Senior Living on Mineral Point Road.

Marcella was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Clifford R. Linker, her sister Myrtice, her daughter-in-law Linda, and her granddaughter Karen. She is survived by her two children Ronald Linker of Carol Stream, IL and Deborah (Donald) Beduhn of Madison, WI; five grandchildren Kristine (Martin) Jalove, Lesley (Andrew) Jensen, Susan (Christopher) Prather, Jeffrey (Nancy Maloney) Beduhn, Rebecca (Micah Holzbauer) Beduhn; and five great-grandchildren Megan, Lauren, Adeline, Henry and William.

A Memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 10:30 am at: Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 802 E. Geneva Rd. Wheaton, IL 60187 Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, we recommend that if you wish to make a contribution in her memory, we would choose the Oakwood Foundation Employee Appreciation Fund. A link to that site is provided here: https://www.oakwoodfoundationinc.org/page.aspx?pid=298 Select "Employee Fund" under the designation drop-down box, in Memory of Marcella Linker.

Marcella will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her

Sources

• Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N77S-199 : 18 May 2016), Marcella Emma Mackprang, 17 Jul 1921; citing Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 29972, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,379,018.

• http://www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituary/222989/Marcella-Linker/