Marellyn Ann (Danner) Panos' Obituary
Marellyn Panos was born “Marellyn Ann Danner” on January 27th, 1937, to Ralph Ebbert and Anna Marie (Peters) Danner, in Cedar Falls, IA. Marellyn was the youngest of nine children, preceded by five brothers and three sisters.Early in Marellyn’s life, after brief residency in Cedar Falls and Tama, her family moved to Marshalltown, IA, which became the family’s permanent home. At age 12, while in school, Marellyn met lifelong friend, Dorothy (Large) Thompson. At age 17, Marellyn was attending high school and working part-time as a waitress at “Fort Hopkins,” a local diner. The restaurant owner’s daughter soon tipped off Marellyn that the phone company was hiring Operators, and urged her to apply. She did, and the rest, as they say, is history. After a brief time working for Bell on a high school vocational program, Marellyn was hired by Bell full-time, as a cord-board Operator, upon her graduation.While working at Northwestern Bell, Marellyn met two lifelong friends, Joan (Kasel) Kellogg and Kathy Gilchrist. In the late 1950’s, Marellyn and Kathy decided to take a vacation and drive from Iowa to San Diego, CA to visit Marellyn’s brother, Buck Danner and his family, who had moved to San Diego a few years before. Marellyn fell in love with San Diego on sight, and soon made plans to transfer to Pacific Bell and make San Diego her new home. Once at Pacific Bell, Marellyn met two more lifelong friends, Audrey Paulson and Connie Lee. Connie and her husband, Donald, soon introduced Marellyn to her future husband, Nick Panos. Nick and Marellyn were married on August 27th, 1960. and on August 23rd, 1961, oldest daughter, Anna Marie, was born. When Anna was four, she asked her mother all about brothers and sisters, and requested a new baby brother or baby sister for herself. Marellyn replied that only God could fulfill that request. So, Anna quickly added that to her daily bedtime prayers and, three years later, on September 5th, 1968, Nick and Marellyn’s second daughter, Athena Marel, was born. Marellyn would later remark that it truly was “Labor Day” in every sense of the word.In 1970, Nick and Marellyn divorced, and Marellyn and her daughters moved back to Marshalltown, IA to be with Marellyn’s family. In 1980, a few years after the 1974 filing for the Bell System divestiture, the Marshalltown branch of the phone company closed. Marellyn was faced with a choice of transferring to Des Moines, IA, Omaha, NE, or taking her severance from Northwestern Bell and faring out on her own. She opted to take her severance pay, and Marellyn and her daughters moved back to San Diego, CA for good. Once back in San Diego, Marellyn hired back on to Pacific Bell and bridged her service. She continued to work as an Operator after the cord boards were replaced by computers and became a “TSPS” Operator. She worked at a few offices in town before settling into her permanent, and final home on Arizona Street, in the North Park district of San Diego. While working at Arizona Street office, Marellyn was approached by a retiring co-worker and asked if she would like to acquired her Avon business. Marellyn accepted the offer with gusto, and continued to run her Avon business with love, care, and zeal to this day. Marellyn enjoyed staying active and busy, and in addition to working full-time at the phone company, running her Avon business and being a full-time Mom (never mind that both her daughters were grown up), she also accepted the position of apartment manager at The Castilian Apartments, where she lived. She continued all these activities until she retired at age 58, with over 41 years of service to her credit, with Bell Telephone Company. Marellyn continued managing apartments until 1999, when she and her daughters decided to buy a home together. After combining residences, and amidst running a home and continuing Avon, Marellyn heard about The Red Hat Society. She soon convinced her friends and daughters to join some local Red Hat Chapters with her. Marellyn loved her Red Hat Sisters, and “Red Hatting” (going to teas, trips, luncheons, and events) in “full regalia” (all dressed up to the 9’s) was one of her favorite pass times. More than the events themselves, Marellyn truly loved the socializing, friendships and meeting new people, more than anything.Marellyn was truly an amazing woman. She was hard-working, loyal, friendly and ethical, and possessed a good, old fashioned “can-do” attitude. Marellyn found something good and valuable in everyone she met. She genuinely enjoyed getting to know her co-workers, customers, tenants, neighbors, and friends. She had a big heart, a great laugh, and a wonderful sense of humor. Her sparkling personality will be truly missed on the face of the earth, but we feel she has been welcomed into Heaven with love, laughter, and wide-open arms. Marellyn is preceded in death by her father and mother, Ralph and Anna Danner, her brothers Morris (Mort), Dillon (Dillie), Ralph (Buck), Rolland (Rollie), and John (Jack); and her sisters Mildred (Millie Hanegan), Evelyn (Evie Hood); and Joyce Richerodt; her nephews Dwight, Jody, and John Danner, and Lenard (Lenny) Richerodt; and her niece, Patti Jo (Hanegan) Pullin.Marellyn is survived by her two daughters, Anna (Panos) Covington and Athena Panos.
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