Marilyn Wheeler Waggoner
Marilyn Wheeler Waggoner joined her Heavenly Father on Friday, December 13th, 2024. A memorial service will be planned in early 2025 at First Presbyterian Church in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Born on March 26th, 1936, Marilyn was the daughter of Louise and Luther Wheeler. Unfortunately, Marilyn lost both of her parents by the age of ten. She was raised by her sister, Barbara Wheeler Cullum. Marilyn responded to these early hardships with a resilience that she carried through her lifetime. She was a graduate of Wichita Falls High School and attended the University of Texas in their Plan II program. She was also a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.
Marilyn and Thomas “Tommy” Jefferson Waggoner, III, fell in love on a high school trip to Italy and were married 6/23/1956. She was a devoted wife and mother to her three children. She was a founding member of the Junior League of Wichita Falls, an organization close to her heart.
In 1969, Marilyn and Tommy moved their family to Dallas, Texas. In the 1970’s Marilyn opened a gift shop, “The Tulip Tree,” in Highland Park Village with a friend and her sister-in-law. The gift shop was a success and remained the place for gift buying for 15+ years. In 1995, Marilyn and Tommy moved to Barton Creek Lakeside in Spicewood, Texas, before deciding that the Rocky Mountains in Montana were calling. In 2002 they moved to Bigfork, MT and spent 13 wonderful years enjoying Big Sky Country. In 2015 they moved back to Wichita Falls to be closer to family and friends. After losing her husband in 2017, Marilyn took a leap of faith and moved to central Oregon in 2022 to enjoy the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her daughter.
Marilyn had lifelong friends from Wichita Falls of 80+ years that added much joy to her life – “The Falls Girls.” Some of Marilyn’s favorite things included summers at Possum Kingdom Lake, watching the Dallas Cowboys (preferably when they were winning which often seems like a distant memory), rooting for the Texas Longhorns football team, traveling all over the world, spending time with her dogs, volunteering, watching Dateline (Lester Holt’s #1 fan), playing competitive bridge or any games with friends and family. She loved greasy TexMex food (think cheese enchiladas covered with queso and chopped onions), Dr Pepper, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and THREE cherries (not 2 or 4 – had to be 3). Marilyn was always up for any adventure – anything to not be “dull and boring” and be surrounded by the people that she loved. She enjoyed countless hours sitting on the back porch in Oregon admiring nature and keeping an eye on resident birds.
Marilyn is survived by her three children and granddaughter: Thomas “Jeff” Jefferson Waggoner, IV, of Wichita Falls, TX, Jill Waggoner of Enid, OK and Amy Waggoner (partner Amie Tacka) of Bend, OR and Jamie Waggoner (fiancé Oliver Birt) of Asheville, NC. She is also survived by her brother-in-law John Stephens Waggoner and wife Elizabeth “Betsy” Denman Waggoner as well as sister-in-law Judy Waggoner Lambert. She also had many loving and caring nieces and nephews who doted on her and brought much joy to her life.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband, Tommy Waggoner, daughter-in-law Kimberly Cogdell, sister Barbara Wheeler Cullum and her husband James Anderson “Old Sport” Cullum, brother-in-law Richard “Dick” Moore Waggoner and his wife Lucia Hartgrove Waggoner.
Marilyn was the epitome of grace and beauty, but also had the most infectious laugh that would bring a smile to your face. But more importantly, she was kind, funny and quick to find humor in any situation. She was the eternal optimist and is greatly missed by all who knew her.
The family would like to express their deep gratitude to her loving caregivers: Hope Hernandez, Pam and John Calkins, Jen Latham and all of the caregivers from Partners in Care – particularly her hospice case manager, Keri S. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Partners in Care at www.partnersbend.org or The American Heart Association.
