Marcia Kay (Beck) Pemberton (80) of Brownstown

Marcia Kay (Beck) Pemberton, 80, of Brownstown, died at 8:13 a.m. Monday, December 12, 2022, at the Willowbrook Memory Care Center located in Vandalia Illinois.

A private funeral service for family and friends will be held at the Gieseking Funeral Home located in Brownstown, Illinois with burial to follow at the Griffith Cemetery. Memorials for Marcia may be made to the Second Chance Animal Shelter of Fayette County.

Marcia Kay Pemberton was born on Monday, October 12, 1942 in Pana, Illinois to Pauline Edith Harris and Raymond Grover Beck. Upon the early death of her father Marcia’s mother married Denver Hunter and the family moved to Brownstown.

Marcia completed 12 years of education and went on to work at Purina Pet Products in Vandalia upon graduating from High School. Marcia then began her career with the Illinois Department of Corrections, where she retired after 25 years of service.

Marcia married Earl Len Pemberton on July 23rd, 1990. The couple resided in Brownstown and were married for 30 years prior to his death on February 23rd, 2021. Marcia was a life-time member of the First Christian Church of Brownstown. Both her and Earl were actively involved and devoted members of the Church.

Marcia and Earl loved their pets which included their beloved dog Josie and two horses Joey and Reno. Marcia was a caring pet owner and even in the coldest of days would tend to her horses and walk the dog. Marcia loved the outdoors. On most days she could be found outside planting flowers, reading or sitting at her coy pond listening to her wind chimes. Marcia and Earl owned a lake lot at the Vandalia Lake and enjoyed spending family time there during the summer months.

Marcia loved to travel and was up for anything that involved a beach and the ocean including multiple trips to Florida with her family, Mexico, and Grand Cayman.

Above all, Marcia’s most favorite activity was spending time with her family. She maintained an extremely close relationship with her daughter, Tiffany, frequently spending hours and hours on the phone chatting multiple nights per week. Which never ceased to amaze Earl, wondering how there could possibly be so many topics to discuss. She adored her grandsons Brett and Blake and loved to go to Brett’s trap shooting competitions and Blake’s basketball games. She often shared her fond memories of her grandsons and was very proud of their accomplishments. Her great grandchildren were the next up in the best of times as she absolutely loved to play and spend quality time with them. She was the grandma who was up for anything fun including biking, sledding, and even sand crabbing on the beach in Florida.

Marcia's hobbies included reading, horseback riding, traveling, crocheting, painting, Bible studies, and last but never least spending time with her family.

Marcia was blessed with a very special friend, Mary Ellen Strinebring. The friendship originated in kindergarten and continued to thrive until her passing. The two of them continued to laugh, love and cherish each other throughout their entire life regardless of the logistical boundaries.

Marcia actively donated to the Humane Society, Lighthouse Pregnancy Institute, and volunteered at the food pantry. Marcia was a dedicated and loving servant of God, shining light on all she encountered.

Marcia was diagnosed with a terminal illness in April 2021 requiring her to be placed at the Willowbrook Memory Center. Marcia’s family would like to give a special thanks to the loving, caring staff at Willowbrook.

Marcia is survived by her daughter, Tiffany Whitten of Fairview Heights; grandsons, Brett and his wife Terra Pruett of Herrick, Blake Pruett of Fairview Heights; great grandchildren, Isaac Hunter, Alyza Harper and Newton Augustus Pruett of Herrick; sister-in-law, Diana Pemberton of Flora.

Marcia was preceded in death by: her parents; husband; mother and father-in-law, Betty and Roy Pemberton and brother-in-law, Lowell Pemberton.

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