Marion Evans Manetas, 104, died on July 31, 2019 in Hospice at the Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, Illinois. Born Marion Arretta Evans on August 28, 1914 in Sharon, Pennsylvania, she grew up at Mooseheart Child City in Batavia, Illinois. In the 1930s she moved to Chicago, where she met and married Thomas Manetas. Over the course of her life, in addition to Chicago, she lived in Morristown, New Jersey; Park Ridge, Illinois; and Hollywood, Florida. Marion worked at Canteen Corporation in various locations and, on returning to the Chicago area, for Reeds Clothing in Park Ridge.

Marion had a passion for gardening, and wherever she lived she created flower and vegetable gardens. She was warm, outgoing, and focused on helping people. She was particularly close to her brother John, her sister Roxie, and their children to whom she was a second mother, loved for her help and selflessness.

Besides her husband Tom, Marion was preceded in death by her brother John Evans, her sister Roxie Wallace, and Roxie's son John Wallace. She is survived by her brother's children Wes, Arthur, David, and Charles; her sister's children Ann, William, and Nancy; and numerous progeny of her nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 17 at 1 PM at the Presbyterian Home at 3200 Grant Street in Evanston. Interment will be private.

A gift in lieu of flowers may be made in the memory of Marion Manetas to the Presbyterian Home Foundation (for the New Hope Scholarship Fund) in Evanston, Illinois; Mooseheart in Batavia, Illinois; or JourneyCare (to support their Music Thanatology program) in Glenview, Illinois.

For further information, please contact the Nelson Funeral Home, 820 W Talcott Road, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068 (847-823-5122).