Marcella Eckhardt-Bacon, who would have been 92 in July 2012, died in her home, following a short illness, with members of her family and friends by her side.

Marcella was born in Gary, S.D., to Charles and Mary MacNalley-Eckhardt. She was raised by her father and siblings after her mother died when she was five years of age.

Marcella resided in her home in Gold Beach, Ore. for more than 33 years. She was a good neighbor and had a strong faith in her creator, Jehovah God. She was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a dedicated and faithful servant up to her death. She believed in the promised resurrection of the dead, who would live again here right on the earth in a paradise condition. This was a promise given by Jehovah God, the true God of the bible. This was a strong, bible-based belief not only of Marcella’s, but her family, her friends and a worldwide association of friends.

Marcella met her lifelong mate, Roger F. Bacon, in Austin, and they married in 1938. Their union produced five children: Barbara Ann, Francis Duane (John), Robert Franklin (Bob), Laura Jean and Paula Kay.

Marcella and Roger moved to California in 1954. The first place she worked was at “Bacon’s Cafe” in Hayward, Calif. Customers that came into the cafe thought she owned it. They loved her. Most days she was their waitress, but one day a week, the real owner would tell his customers, “Don’t be bothering her. Today she is the baker, and she is making all the pies and cakes you enjoy so much.” Marcella was a fantastic cook and baker. Many in Gold Beach and Brookings, Ore., Gary and Austin have enjoyed her culinary creations. In Iowa, as a young girl of 13, she was farmed out to work for a farmer and his wife, cooking and caring for their family and the farmhands. There she learned to cook from scratch, an ability she expanded on throughout her life, much to the repeated delight of her friends and family.

During her early married years, she and her husband Roger lived in Austin where Marcella worked on and off at the well-known Hormel plant. During the war years one was not allowed to quit a job without a doctor’s note. She told Hormel why she had to quit, but they didn’t believe her. She had to go off to the doctor to get that note when she was seven months pregnant with her fourth child. In Hormel’s 100th-year anniversary magazine, there was an insert of a small group of women who were the first allowed to work a line at the plant, which only men were allowed to do previously. She was among the women in that insert. Marcella also worked at the Old Mill Restaurant for many years, which is still serving customers today.

Her husband Roger preceded her in death in Gold Beach in 1990, after a marriage of almost 54 years. He was 73. Their eldest daughter, Barbara, preceded her father’s death in 1986, in Grants Pass, Ore.; it was an unexpected tragedy for the whole family. Marcella is also preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Mary MacNalley-Eckhardt; all of her siblings, Eva Allen, Edward, Barney, Mildred Hall, Francis Gorvin, Mary Hanson, Elizabeth Seavey and Lillian Hanson; and an infant grandchild at his birth, Roger Daniel Bacon in Medford, Ore., in 1976.

Marcella is survived by her sons, Francis Duane (John) and wife Sharyn of Gold Beach, Robert Franklin (Bob) and wife Pat of Jackson, Calif.; and her daughters, Laura Jean Bacon-Partridge of Brookings, Ore. and Paula Kay Broom and husband Steven of Redding, Calif. She also leaves behind 16 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. She had two nieces she was especially fond of: Kloia Shelley, who preceded her in death, and Alvina Krueger, still living in Iowa. She has numerous extended relatives throughout Minnesota.

Marcella, who was a loving, generous and kind person with a strong personality, will be dearly missed by her immediate and extended family and close friends in her congregation. She was an inspiration to all for her steadfast faith and loyalty right up to her death towards her creator, Jehovah God. She is in His memory now, and awaits a resurrection to a paradise earth, where there will be “no pain, no crying, and no dying.” Revelation 21: 3-4.

Her memorial service was held Saturday, April 14 at 2 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses on Fifth Place in Gold Beach. A memorial reception followed immediately for friends and family with a hundred in attendance. Any condolence cards, etc. may be sent to Laura Partridge at 1714 Arch Lane No. 7, Brookings, OR 97415.