Marcus L. Ogden

Marc Lindsey Ogden III was born on August 31, 1925 in Owensboro, KY. He moved to Downers Grove, IL with his parents, Marc and Mary Laswell Ogden, known to their grandchildren as Lovey and Butch. He and his younger sister, Larkin, lived there until young adulthood but their parents remained there the rest of their lives. They provided the grandchildren the best Thanksgiving’s and Fourth of July’s a family could have. Marc loved parades and fireworks and the western Chicago suburbs provided plenty of both!

Marc began college the summer of 1943 at Purdue University but was called to report for military duty in December, 1943 when he began training for the Air Corps Cadet program. In 1944 he was sent to Air Gunnery School to learn to fly in a B-17 bomber. With the rank of Sergeant, he was flown in December before his first mission in Africa. He flew in 14 air combat missions before the war ended and he returned home. In 2012 Marc was honored with an Indy Honor Flight to Washington, DC along with 79 other WWII veterans. A few weeks later he was invited to fly on the Memphis Belle, a B-17 bomber! It was an experience he never forgot.

Marc re enrolled at Purdue in 1946 and graduated in 1949 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Marc took a job with Western Electric where he met his first wife. They had four children before divorcing in 1976. He worked with several companies as a sales engineer which is how he had the good fortune to meet Barb who was the receptionist at HNTB Engineers.

Marc and Barbara married October 17, 1980. They loved to travel and loved relaxing in the sun. They took many trips to several cities in Mexico and shared the places they loved with friends and family members. After taking full retirement in 1995, Marc did volunteer work at Community General Hospital, and Conner Prairie where he discovered a love of, and talent for, building beautiful wood furniture. In 1996 he joined Sertoma. He remained active in all three organizations for as long as his health allowed. Marc had many other interests. He loved sports, especially if Purdue was one of the teams playing. For 50 years, he was very involved in all aspects of the theater including acting, dinner theater management, and an Actors judge for Footlight Musicals and the Civic Theater. He also like performing on a smaller scale, entertaining his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with puppet shows and magic acts. He would take every opportunity to produce a quarter from behind an ear and to make a nose disappear! Marc loved to host parties, especially if he could wear a costume. He loved to celebrate the holidays and urged Barbara to begin decorating for Christmas before the Thanksgiving turkey had been consumed. Marc loved Mickey Mouse, good drink, and good food. He loved his kids, his grandkids, and his great grandkids. Marc loved his wife so dearly that he hastened to follow her into their eternal life together on September 2, 2019 at the age of 94. Marc will be greatly missed.

Marc is survived by his children, Karen (Rick) Erickson, Kurt (Angelia) Ogden, Kym (Mike Sitar) Ogden, and Craig (Tonya) Ogden; stepchildren Kathie (Jerry) Adams and Sherri (Bob Fredrick) Fuller; grandchildren Evan Ogden, Abigail Ogden, Avery Ogden, step grandchildren Rob (Michelle) Deaton, Brian (Jen) Deaton, Sabrina Fuller and Ryan (Lauren) Fuller; great grandchildren Myah, Jayden, Drew, Kara and Thaddeus; and his sister Larkin’s children, Holly (Scott) Stoner, John Hughes, Marcus (Rebecca) Hughes.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Conner Prairie Development Department, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers, IN 46038.
Funeral services will be held at Flanner Buchanan-Oaklawn Memorial Gardens (Conner Suite), 9700 Allisonville Road at 11:00 a.m., September 11, 2019.