Marilyn Jean (Wilson) Oakes, age 96, of Jamestown, Ohio passed away peacefully in her sleep at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton on July 14, 2025.
Marilyn was born on July 17, 1928, in Royal Oak, Michigan, the older of two children born to the late John H and Alice P Wilson. She attended Bellville High School, and met Kempton A. Oakes, minister at the Bellville Church of Christ, whom she later married on July 29, 1945, and was married for 54 years before his passing in 2000. Together, they were parents of three children: Robert Hartley Oakes, Kathryn Ann (Oakes) Wright, and Ronald L. Oakes.
They served Christian Churches and Churches of Christ congregations in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Marilyn actively served in a variety of ways, serving on Missions Committees, in the choir, in Women’ s groups, or even in the church office running mimeograph machines and printing church bulletins and newsletters. She was always willing to do whatever needed to be done as a testimony of her faith in her Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
She also worked at Therm-O-Disc in Bellville on three separate occasions, as well as at an insurance company in McComb.
Of particular significance were her pie-baking skills, crocheting, afghan making, and at Christmas, baking a birthday cake for Jesus. She loved to bowl, play all kinds of games, and work on various crafts. Later in life, she learned how to paint, adorning her house and others with her works of art. She even won blue ribbons at the Hancock County Fair for both her baking and crocheting skills.
She will be greatly missed by her surviving children Kathy Wright of Madisonville, TN, and Ronald Oakes of Jamestown, OH, sister-in-law Carol Wilson of Bellville, OH, daughter-in-law Patricia Anne Oakes of Jamestown, OH, five granddaughters Amy (Wright) Pitarro, Kristi (Wright) Watson, Erika (Wright) Clark, Alesha (Oakes) Hagemeyer, and Adrienne (Oakes) Linville, fifteen great-grandchildren, two great- great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces & nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son Robert Oakes (1981), husband Kempton Oakes (2000), and her brother Donald Wilson (2021).
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Snyder Funeral Home in Bellville, OH located at 81 Mill Road in Bellville on Saturday, July 19th. Visitation will be at 10:00 am, with the service beginning at 11:00 am. Burial to follow in Bellville Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Missions Committee, McComb Church of Christ, 400 Ackerly Street, McComb, OH 45858.
Her family extends a genuine heart-felt “Thank-You” to friends who also loved and knew Marilyn, and who come to celebrate the life she lived for her God.
Snyder Funeral Homes is honored to serve Marilyn’s family and encourage you to share a fond memory or message of condolence on her obituary page at www.SnyderFuneralHomes.com.
Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Homes, Bellville/Butler Chapel
Website: www.SnyderFuneralHomes.com