Marlus Reser

Marlus Diane Reser and her twin sister Marian were born on August 29, 1946 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Bob and Dorothea (Oehlertz) Paulsen. Marian only lived two days.

Growing up Marlus was active at Trinity Lutheran Church. She was a book lover and would much prefer to stay inside and read, she took piano lessons, and played basketball, and worked as a car hop at the Parkway drive in. She graduated from AvoHa with the Class of 1964 and would go on to get her Bachelors of Education at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville.

She met Jim Reser at Northwest Missouri State - they married on July 19, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Avoca. They were blessed with two sons: James and Jason.

Marlus spent all but one of her teaching years teaching first grade. She taught in Earlham, Sioux Valley, and Ruthven retiring in 2001. She loved helping kids and received the Outstanding Elementary Teacher of America award in 1972.

Marlus was social, she had lots of friends who she cared about and who cared about her. She kept busy and active in a golf league, playing mahjong, serving in PEO, Eastern Star, Sylvan Learning Center, weekly coffee with her friends at the Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp, daily walks around the lake, watching the birds, enjoying her flowers, watching the coy fish in the pond, and sitting on her deck daily at 5:00 having a glass of wine with Jim.

She loved her grandkids, she was involved, interested and so enjoyed the time she got to spend with them. They loved going to the lake and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. Christmas' were special, Marlus would make everyone something special every year and would play “search for the pickle” to find their special ornament.

Marlus passed away on Saturday, September 20, 2025. She was preceded in death by her parents, and twin sister, Marian.

Left to cherish her memory; husband Jim Reser of 56 years of Milford, Iowa; sons James (Tess) Reser of Mankato, Minnesota and Jason (Dorothy) Reser of Johnston, Iowa; grandchildren Kaleb, Kiley, Marlee, and Miranda; sister Cheryl Langer of Council Bluffs, Iowa and brother Doug (Vickie) Paulsen of Eldridge, Iowa; other extended family and many friends.