Obituaries, August 19, 2023
Marlene Fields-Kingman
Marlene Fields-Kingman, born March 24, 1936, in Huntington, Indiana, died at age 87 in Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 16, 2023. Marlene was, first and foremost, dedicated to her family and to her Christian faith. She was a loving wife, first to Don Fields for over 40 years until his death in 2000, and for the last 16 years, to Frank Kingman, who survives her. She loved her daughters and their families fiercely and was especially proud of her four grandchildren. She was a loving daughter to her parents Howard and Juanita Keister, including tirelessly helping them in their family store and restaurant in Sturgis, Michigan, and being a devoted and caring support to her Mom throughout her later years. She was enduringly fervent in her faith and was a dedicated member of the First Church of God in Kokomo, Indiana for over 40 years. She was one of those people that you could count on to be there every time the church doors opened (with her three daughters in tow), serving for many years as the church organist, singing in quartets and in the choir, helping organize and clean up after many a church dinner, and manning the prayer chain.
Anyone who knew her would say Marlene was a beautiful person while also being “a real character”. She would offer a “thank you Jesus” and a bawdy joke within the same breath. She was a force to be reckoned with – independent, feisty, tireless, blunt, and with a strong point of view – and she loved big, freely, and generously. Having grown up in a situation of scarcity, she was driven to make sure her daughters had plenty. She always worked and worked hard. She was a school cook at Western School Corporation for 18 years while her kids were in school (so she could keep an eye on them), but before that, she was a hairdresser, worked at Kroger’s, JC Penney, and had an in-home daycare and took in ironing. After she retired as a school cook, she worked in the kitchen at Woody’s Deli in Kokomo for over 10 years, making gallons and gallons of deli salads, soups, and hand-crafted sandwiches that folks would come from miles around to enjoy. She was an amazing cook and homemaker, and the home she and Don built was the frequent gathering place for her daughters’ friends, with prayers, laughter, an abundant home-cooked meal, and unbelievable amounts of ice cream available to all. Fellowship and fun with church friends were a constant source of joy and support – many of those relationships endured a lifetime. She always had a plan for dinner – and enjoyed nothing more than a good meal with those she loved.
After her husband Don died suddenly in 2000, she relocated to Colorado Springs, CO, and succeeded in building a happy final chapter to her life. She married Frank Kingman of Longmont, CO in 2007 and they shared many joys together, enjoying travel, visits with family, and wonderful fellowship with their Paradise Villas neighborhood friends and folks from their church community. She and Frank were members of Black Forest Baptist Church and worshiped more recently at The Church on the Ranch. She loved gospel music and attended (first with Don and later with Frank) the National Gospel Quartet Convention more than 30 times, planning her annual calendar around that worship experience like some plan for the Super Bowl. Frank was a very loving caregiver to Marlene as her health declined and he kept the gospel music playing right up to her final hours.
Marlene is survived by her husband Frank Kingman; daughter Cheryl Fields Tyler and her husband Tom Tyler, and their children and their partners, Sage Tyler and Katya Balakhovsky, and Maya Tyler and Audrey Lipps; daughter Shawna Fields; daughter Dacia Fields-Chambers and her husband Tim Chambers, and their children Simeon Chambers and Jadyn Chambers; and Frank’s daughters Donna Mullison and Joanne Kingman-Fodge and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband, Don Fields, and her parents, Howard and Juanita (Ziegler) Keister.
A graveside service will be at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Sunset Memorial Garden in Kokomo with a luncheon to follow. Donations in her memory can be made to the Pikes Peak Hospice Care Foundation. Shirley & Stout Funeral Home & Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements. Messages of condolence may be left at www.shirleyandstout.com.
Think of her when you hear gospel music in four-part harmony, have an ice cream sundae, or wonder what’s for dinner – and join us in gratitude for her beautiful soul, her faithful heart, and a life well-lived.