A Celebration of Life Service to honor the life and legacy of Marilyn Nickel, age 76, of Jeffers, will be held Monday, June 8th at 11:00 AM at the Jeffers United Methodist Church in Jeffers, with a time of visitation and gathering for two hours prior to the service from 9:00-11:00 AM. Burial will be in Jeffers Cemetery in Jeffers. The service will be live streamed on the Jeffers United Methodist Church Facebook page.

Marilyn Kay (Waterman) Nickel was the second daughter born to Merritt August and Lillian Mirenda (Lindholm) Waterman in the Springfield hospital on Thanksgiving morning on November 24, 1949. She grew up in the Lamberton area where her dad owned the Lamberton Livestock Trucking business. Marilyn was baptized and confirmed in faith at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. When she was four years old, her dad passed away from diabetic complications. At six years old, her mom married William Halter Jr. They continued to live in the Lamberton area until her senior year of high school. Marilyn graduated from Springfield High School in 1967. After graduation, she attended a business school in Mankato.

On April 20, 1968, her life journey took a beautiful turn when she was united in marriage to the love of her life for 58 years, Marlow David Nickel. They settled in their forever home east of Jeffers raising four beautiful children, and Marilyn was a proud grandma to eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Family was at the heart of everything she did and cherished the moments spent together. They all enjoyed her special baking skills with buns and cinnamon rolls, special chocolate bars, and field meals-on-wheels. You could usually find her working on a sewing mission project on her dining room table.

Together they created a fun, busy household on the farm and enjoyed a variety of community activities. She served her community with a servant's heart always ready to help. She served the Jeffers area on the ambulance for 20 years, was elected twice as the MN State Cattlewomen President, receiving the Cottonwood County Service Award and MN State Cattlewoman of the year. She served on the District Women in Faith board and cherished her many friends that she met along the way. She volunteered at the MN River Area Agency on Agency and A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota where she enjoyed working with youth and doing many church activities. Anytime during the week, you could find her following local and MN sports or sitting on the bleachers to cheer on her kids and grandchildren.

She always enjoyed going on short trips with the family, celebrating holidays, and getting everyone together for games and competition. She enjoyed genealogy and preserved her family's heritage by creating several family history books. In 2021, she was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Comforted by the love of her family and the promise of eternal life, Marilyn passed away peacefully on June 2, 2026, at Hospice of Murray County, in Slayton, Minnesota.

Those we hold in our arms for a little while we hold in our hearts forever. She was unwavering in her faith in God and thanked him each day for the beauty of the world he created.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 58 years, Marlow Nickel of Jeffers; her beloved children, Scott (Dawn) Nickel of Bingham Lake, Jamie (Heidi) Nickel of Plymouth, Robin (James) Weis of Jeffers, and Julie (Glenn) Peters of North Mankato; eight grandchildren, Collin (Megan), Devin (Sami), Ella, Kiana, Keegan (Sophia), Nautica, Bianca (Dalton), and Mikayla; three great-grandchildren, Carter, Rorie, and Deegan; stepbrother, Randy (Kay) Halter; and several nieces and nephews.

Sadly, Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, Merritt and Lillian Waterman; stepdad, William Halter Jr; sister, Helen (John) Burns; niece, Shannon Burns; parents-in-law, Marvin and Effie Nickel; two sets of special grandparents, Leander and Emma Lindholm and Martin and Susanna Waterman; and many family and friends.