MARILYN LOUISE (HANKS) GARRETT

Marilyn Louise (Hanks) Garrett passed away on Friday, July 14, 2023 peacefully at her home in Wheatland, Wyoming at the age of 83.  

 Marilyn was born to Cornelius “Harvey” and Ruth (Hayes) Hanks on Wednesday, August 2, 1939 in Wheatland. She spent her young years on a ranch owned by Vic and Jenny White on Cottonwood Creek, spending her time following the sheep and playing in the creek. Marilyn began her education being taught by her mother, Ruth, who was the school teacher.  Being the School Teacher’s daughter gave Marilyn some privileges the other students didn’t have; she was allowed to pet the horses and took her nap in the wood box while she was still very young.  When Marilyn was in the 4th grade, her family moved to Wheatland where she attended school. She graduated from Wheatland High School in 1959. 

When Marylin was 12 her father, Harvey, offered her a job, cooking at the Hanks Sawmill in Fletcher Park. The job entailed cooking for the sawmill crew and the delivery drivers. With some help from her brother, Neal she rapidly became a noted cook.  After high school, she took a job at Thorne Drug working as a soda jerk. 

After attending a rural dance at North Albany, Charles “Roger” Garrett took Marilyn to the Big Springs on the Dodge Ranch and proposed to her in the grey morning light.  Marilyn and Charles were married September 22, 1963 at the First Christian Church in Wheatland.  They took a month-long honeymoon up through Montana into British Columbia. They stayed with various ranch families along the way and spent time in Calgary and Williams Lake.  They dropped back down into the states through Washington and traveled down the west coast to California to see the Redwoods and the Sequoias. They ended the Honeymoon in Norco where they lived for a spell. After almost a year they made the decision to move back to Wyoming. 

 Marilyn and Charles lived in Casper, Laramie, and the Dodge (96) Ranch before moving back to the community of Garrett on the Ranch.  They built and moved into their new house in 1969.  Marilyn took great pride in their home in Garrett. She whitewashed the house several times, ensured the “windels” were always clean, and that her home stayed in order.  Marilyn spent many, many hours on her John Deere tractor raking hay during the summer.  She loved to cook and bake from scratch. Growing up cooking for a crew, Marilyn had no problems serving dinner to the hay crews that would come during the summer.   She always made a huge spread for the branding feast in the spring for all those friends and neighbors who attended.  Marilyn must have made over a million sandwich lunches for the hay crews and her grandchildren when they would come to visit. Marilyn was a lover of all animals and though she did not ride horses, they were all her friends. She always made it a point to go pet the ponies if they were in the corral. The yard was full of bird houses and the hummingbirds always had a drink when they needed one.

Marilyn would take every opportunity to go visit her family and friends when she was in the neighborhood. Every summer she would load up the family and go visit all of her siblings and her father while he was living. She never spared the opportunity to stop in and see a friend, especially when the privilege of using a phone was almost nonexistent at the ranch. She was a gentle soul, had a good sense of humor, and was honest and loyal to a fault. 

Marilyn was preceded in death by her mother, Ruth on June 30, 1965; father, Harvey on April 23, 1978; sister, Nancy Haggerty on June 11, 1991; brothers, Norman on June 6, 2006, Neil on August 10, 2009, Kenneth "Short" on September 10, 2018, and Arnold "Tuff" on November 29, 2022; two nieces, Gail Coziahr and Debbie Wedlock; nephew Terry Hanks; great niece, Jennifer Cozaihr; and great nephew, Brevin Hanks. 

Survivors include her husband, Roger of Garrett; son, Andrew (Christine) of Norwood, Missouri; daughter, Barb (Dan) of Bar Nunn, Wyoming; granddaughter, Andrea Garrett of Henry Nebraska; grandsons, Levi Garrett of Norwood, Charlie Richards of Bar Nunn, and Ben Richards (Miya) of Mills, Wyoming; great grandchildren, Eli Stark, Shae Stark, and Olivia Geringer of Henry, Nebraska; two sisters-in-law, Faye & Jean Hanks; and one brother-in-law, Thomas "Reg" Garrett; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and many friends. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at The First Christian Church in Wheatland on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Casey Schroeder officiating.

Gorman Funeral Homes - Platte Chapel is in charge of the services.

Condolences can be left for the family at www.gormanfh.com

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