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Submitted: 9/12/21 • Approved: 9/12/21 • Last Updated: 9/15/21 • R1389505-G1389159-S3
February 10, 1912 - December 2, 2008
*Obituary
Tahlequah Daily Press
Friday, December 5, 2008
TAHLEQUAH - Marilois Larson Bach was born Feb. 10, 1912, in Orchard, Colo., to Frank and Ida Larson, who ran a hotel there. Her mother was born in Sweden and immigrated to America with her parents at age 15. She was married at age 16 to Frank Larson, who was 10 years her senior. She gave birth to nine children. Two died in childhood. Marilois, the middle child of this brood, was a 3-pound, 8-ounce premature infant who was not expected to survive the night. She was placed in a shoebox with a hot water bottle for a makeshift incubator. At age 6 weeks, the family moved to Manville, Wyo., where her father managed a lumber company. Her parents forgot to register their newborn daughter, which proved a problem many years later when it was time to register for Social Security. Marilois’ family moved many times, following the oil boom in the West. The family eventually settled in Denver, Colo., where her writing career was to start. She was the editor of the West High School newspaper and also provided high school news stories to the Denver Post. Following high school, the Denver Post offered her a job for $12 a week to edit the Junior News Page; however, her business courses in high school led to a higher-paying job for a life insurance company that paid $15 a week. Part of her duties were to handle public relations for the company. She became known as the girl reporter who had a style of writing that was brief and to the point – a skill that was to serve her well throughout her life.
On May 29, 1936, she married Frederick W. Bach, who worked in a brokerage company. While they were dating, Fred joined Texaco Oil Co., where he became a salesman. They moved around the western states, living in Cheyenne and Rock Springs, Wyo., before spending the balance of his career in Salina and Wichita, Kan. During this time, they raised their two boys, Richard and James. After the boys were grown, Marilois restarted her writing career in Garden City, Kan., where she worked for the Western Kansas Businessmen’s Association. In addition to her news releases for newspapers, television and radio, she had a daily noontime show where she would sign off, “This is Marilois Bach, your girl reporter, reminding you that what Western Kansas makes, makes Western Kansas.” At age 63, Marilois retired with Fred to Bella Vista, Ark., where she started the best job of her life. She developed a weekly column for the Bella Vista Weekly, along with doing freelance reporting. Her column ran for 28 years and she was proud to say she never missed a deadline. She earned 16 awards from the Arkansas Press Women’s Association and the Arkansas Press Association. Her column, “The Grapevine,” and her book, “Swingin’ On The Grapevine” were a great success. Marilois received additional awards from the community, churches, and civic organizations for her contributions. She has written several mini-musicals and comedy routines. The local television station honored her and the Arkansas Blue Cross named her The Ageless Hero of the Year in the category of second careers. In 2005, she won third place in the spelling bee for senior citizens in Tahlequah, where she and Fred lived in retirement. Writing was not more important than her relationship with the church. Marilois was the president of the Chaplains’ Auxiliary in Denver and in Wichita, Kan. She lived by the advice of her mother: “Keep me working, keep me fit. At the window I don’t care to sit watching others hurry by. Lord, keep me working ‘til I die.”
Marilois passed into eternity on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Go Ye Village Medical Center in Tahlequah. Fred predeceased her on May 26, 2008, just three days short of their 72nd wedding anniversary. Marilois leaves to mourn her passing, her sons, Richard (Jaclin), of Tahlequah, and James (Tina), of Chicago, Ill.; four grandchildren, Kimberlee, Kerry, Kristin and Shelby; two great-grandchildren, Timothy and Amanda. She was predeceased by a grandson, Keith.
A memorial will be held at First Lutheran Church, Tahlequah, at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. Green Country Funeral Home, 203 S. Commercial Road, 458-5055.
Contributed on 9/12/21 by judyfrog
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Record #: 1389505