Marilyn Heble

Marilyn Joyce Heble, 82, of Colby, died Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Citizens Medical Center, in Colby, surrounded in love by her 2 children. She was born January 4, 1941, in Park, KS, to Alphonse and Matilda (Kuhn) Depperschmidt. She graduated from Park High School in 1958 and moved to Colby where she began working at Southwestern Bell Telephone as an operator for 20+ years.

She met and married Duane Heble on October 6, 1962. They continued to make their home in Colby and welcomed and raised 3 children. Marilyn was always active and interested in all their activities, but she was also careful to raise them to be independent and not get in the way of “natural consequences”, which was tested more than once.

She was a devout member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and volunteered in numerous capacities over the years, but best utilized her organization skills and compassion for others by coordinating funeral dinners for over a decade. She volunteered with R.S.V.P. in Colby, and lots of other community projects, she just really enjoyed being busy and helping out in any way she could.

Marilyn was very creative and enjoyed making handmade gifts for friends & family. Later in life she discovered she had a talent for art, and she enjoyed sketching and painting handmade birthday cards, gift bags and small prints. She was a skilled seamstress and quilter and made all kinds of projects over the years, her handmade Christmas stockings will be cherished by her Children and Grand Kids for years to come.

Marilyn was also a great baker, her homemade pies were always greatly anticipated and requested by many. She enjoyed making them to share with friends as thank you or just because she was thinking about you. Marilyn had a big heart and a host of talents, but her biggest joy was her grandkids and sharing time with them. She instilled her love for games and playing cards with all of them. She loved playing cards, especially Rummy, and had her own version (Gma’s Rummy) where the rules could change at “Gmas” discretion. Cards brought her a lot of joy and camaraderie, and she was always up for another hand, usually outlasting everyone.

Her generosity of her time and involvement in the local groups and activities gave her the opportunity to develop countless friendships throughout the community, she valued these friendships greatly and truly cherished spending time with her friends and relatives. The beloved Sacred Heart “coffee group” was a constant over the last 30+ years, and a great source of sharing faith, deep friendships and lots of fun.

She loved her family roots and always looked forward to spending time with her brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, childhood friends and countless God children. Always being a very detailed and organized person, she was the natural organizer of many family and school reunions.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband Duane of 60 years; parents; her beloved daughter Brenda and siblings, Cletus Depperschmidt, Gerald Depperschmidt, Kathy Woerpel and Linda Waddell.

She is survived by her children, Blaine (Vonceile), of Lindsborg, KS, and Becky (Scot) Bullock, of Leawood, KS; grandchildren, Hanna (Trevor) Whittaker, Clare Bullock, Colby Bullock, Blake Heble, Carly Bullock, and Brandt Heble; great grandson Brooks Whittaker and brothers, Les (Connie) Depperschmidt, of Derby, KS, Marvin (Norma) Depperschmidt, of Salina, KS and Ken (Diane) Depperschmidt, of Smith Center, KS.

Visitation is 5-6:00 p.m., with a Vigil at 6:00 p.m., Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Baalmann Mortuary, Colby, KS. The Funeral Mass is at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 15, 2023, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Colby, with burial in the church cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Brenda Heble Memorial Scholarship Fund and sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or condolences visit baalmannmortuary.com