March 17, 1934 – September 26, 2025

Marlene Claudia (Clark) Wogsland passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on September 26, 2025, at the age of 91. Witty, sociable, devoted, and selfless, Marlene will forever be remembered as a fiercely loyal and loving mother, grandmother, and friend.
Born March 17, 1934, in Billings, Montana, to Dorothy and Bill Clark, Marlene grew up across the oil fields of Montana and Wyoming where she learned to adapt and bloom wherever she was planted. Marlene graduated from Billings High School and then earned a degree in social work from the University of Minnesota, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She met her husband, James Willard Wogsland, on a blind date at the University of Minnesota. They were married in 1957 at Marlene’s family home. The couple honeymooned in the Grand Tetons of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Marlene moved with Jim to Peoria, Illinois, where Jim began his career with Caterpillar Inc., and Marlene took a job with the State of Illinois as a social worker placing children in foster homes. They welcomed their beloved daughter Karen in March 1962. In 1964, they relocated to Geneva, Switzerland for Jim’s job. Their cherished son, Steven, was born in Geneva in December 1969. They returned to Illinois in 1976 before being transferred with Caterpillar to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1981. They returned to Peoria for the third time in 1986 and lived there for 9 years before retiring to live (literally) on Easy Street in Hayden Lake, Idaho, in 1995. After 62 years of marriage, Jim passed away on September 26, 2019, and Marlene relocated for the last time to Colorado to be near her children and grandchildren. Marlene spent her final year in Steamboat Springs as a resident of Casey’s Pond, where she was known for her sense of humor, hugs, kisses, and back rubs.
It’s nearly impossible to distill the myriad beautiful memories the feisty, funny, five-foot-tall Marlene leaves in her wake, but her family fondly recalls the countless sporting events she attended to support her children, the butterscotch pie she made for Jim yearly on his birthday that she claimed required every pot in the house, her penchant for wearing silly hats, her hole-in-one golf game in Brazil, her enthusiasm for celebrating holidays, the four VW beetle cars she owned and adored, the brownies/bread/bacon brunches she hosted weekly for her grandsons, the welcome baskets she created for her houseguests, the innumerable gourmet meals she prepared, the short-and-sweet holiday letters she mailed each year to friends across the globe, and the generosity she and Jim exhibited by treating their family to trips to Iceland, England, Alaska, Norway, the Galapagos Islands, the Bahamas, and Tanzania. Marlene and Jim traveled the world, had a hell of a ride, and taught their children and grandchildren to celebrate everything.
Marlene was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her sister, Bobby Purcell. She leaves a hole in the hearts of those who survive her: her daughter Karen Wogsland (Linda Pratt) and son Steve (Justine) Wogsland; grandsons Joe and Luke; niece Mary Lynn Purcell; and cousin, Craige Whiteley.
Celebration of Life events will be held in Marlene’s honor on October 16, 2025, at Casey’s Pond in Steamboat Springs and in Hayden Lake, Idaho, summer 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Casey’s Pond (caseyspond.org).