Mrs. Marian Gilmer

A philosophy of life to which Marian B. Gilmer might have ascribed would be to love God, family, and friends honestly and fervently, to work hard in order to insure success, to explore new places of interest, and to commit to serve the community and area in which a person lives. As she lived her life, she accomplished all of this.
Marian was born October 31, 1916 at her father's homestead on Buffalo Creek about ten miles southwest of Upton. She was the youngest child in a family of six born to Adelbert G. and Bertha L. Hopkins Ramsay. She attended country schools through eighth grade and then attended high school in Upton, graduating in 1933. Both parents died when Marian was quite young so she lived with her brother, Grant and family, while attending high school and spent the summers with her sister, Ruth Gibbs and family. At the end of her senior year in high school, there was talk of starting a Normal Training program to help train teachers, so Marian borrowed $35.00 for tuition and began her training. After getting her certificate, she taught in several country schools.
It wasn't long before she caught the eye of a Southern gentleman by the name of Dave Gilmer. He had come west from Virginia to ranch with his uncle Blaine Jessee. Dave and Marian married and began their lives on the MD Ranch. They raised their daughters, Carolyn and Virginia, to be active in 4-H, Job's Daughters, and school activities.
During these years, Marian served on the Upton School Board for 13 years and on the Soda Creek Precinct election board for over fifty years. She was an active member in the Upton United Methodist Church and enjoyed participating in the Fiddler Creek Social Club whose members gathered monthly for a dinner, visiting, and card games. Marian was a devoted member of Upton Chapter No. 32, Order of Eastern Star and achieved her fifty-year membership in November 1993.
One of the things she loved best was to search out interesting places along county roads she'd not previously traveled. She and her dear friend, Effie Kraft, would take out on a Sunday afternoon for parts unknown and only upon their return would she bother to tell the girls where they had been. Some of the areas they toured were so remote that had they had problems, no one would have been able to find them.
Grandchildren were very dear to Marian and her teaching skills didn't go to waste on them. She enjoyed watching them grow and participating in their activities. She froze at football games and yelled at basketball games with David and Vance and sweltered at swim meets and became engrossed in the musical performances of Blaine and Nancy. When the great-grandchildren came along she participated in their activities as much as possible.
Marian was a ranch woman through and through, partnering with Dave in the many aspects of ranch life. Following his death in 1961, she and the girls purchased the ranch from Uncle Blaine and continued to raise the fine herds of Hereford cattle for which the MD Ranch was known. The ranch remained active until 1987 when the last of the cattle was sold and Marian then leased the grass lands. As the years advanced, she made the decision to sell most of the land to Randy and Rhonda Oleson. Carolyn purchased the acreage where the homes are located which allowed her to remain in her home until health problems caused her to move into assisted living and then to the nursing home in Newcastle. Marian passed away on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at the age of 93 years, 9 months, and 28 days.
Marian was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, her husband Dave, son-in-law Les Peterson, grandson Vance Peterson, and great-granddaughter Evelyn Porter.
Those celebrating her life are her children Carolyn Peterson, Virginia and Don Porter; grandchildren David and Tracy Peterson, Janice Peterson, Blaine and Jo Ann Porter, Nancy and Chris Taylor; great-grandchildren Leslie, McKayla, Noelle, and Dalton Peterson; Blaine and Victoria Porter, and Abigail Madden and step-great grandsons Cody Young, Chadley and Joseph Miller.
Memorials to Upton United Methodist Church or a charity of the donor's choice have been established with donations being accepted at FirsTier Bank, P.O. Box 560, Upton, WY 82730.
Worden Funeral Directors has been entrusted with the services.