Obituary of Marlys Linda Sebasky

Marlys Linda Sebasky

MINNEAPOLIS - Marlys Sebasky, 71, passed away peacefully, surrounded by love, at the home of her daughter, Emily, on Tuesday, May 11th, after her eight year stand-off with breast cancer was brought to an end by an aggressive form of follicular lymphoma. A celebration of her life will be held in late July.

Marlys was born the second of five children to Michael and Linda (Janson) Hesch on July 28th, 1949, in Little Falls, MN. As her family moved to St. Cloud and then Sauk Rapids she attended Sacred Heart grade school and Cathedral High School. Her fondest memories of high school were taking part in musicals and marching with the Drum Corps in the Aquatennial Torchlight parade.

After high school Marlys attended St. Cloud State briefly before leaving school to marry and start a family. The birth of her children, Josh (1971) and Emily (1974), kicked off what she often referred to as the “happiest time of her life.” Throughout the early years in Rice, and then later in St. Joseph, she nurtured in them a lively interest in the world at large, encouraging them to always be curious, to question authority, and to find their own path in life. She also instilled in them a deep sense of their own innate ability, goodness, and competence. She was a “cool” mom, beloved by her kids' friends (and years later her daughter- and son-in-law) for her humor and easy kindness. Josh and Emily are extraordinarily grateful to have had her as their mother.

In addition to parenting, Marlys was a folk artist whose media over the years included salt, flour, and water clay, a gazillion sewing projects, grapevine wreaths, corn husk dolls, Fimo clay jewelry, button art, painted birdhouses, and “kitties” made of Fimo mosaic covering Lake Superior rocks. With each new project she would dive deep and produce countless iterations, sometimes selling her work at craft fairs, other times just giving it away to whomever admired it. She was unceasingly generous, not only with her art, but also her attention, her smile, and her time, volunteering over the years for many organizations including the St. Cloud women’s shelter, MPR, Tri-CAP, the Stearns County Historical Society, and the Morrison County Historical Society.

Marlys’s creativity also found an outlet in her 37-year career as a florist, first at the Flower Center in the Crossroads Mall, followed by Coborn’s Floral. Upon leaving the floral industry, she tried her hand at various jobs before finding something that suited her perfectly: being a Care Companion for Home Instead. She genuinely loved spending time with her seniors, and continued to work with them until she suffered a stroke in March of 2018, at which time she retired and moved to Minneapolis to live with Emily and her family.

Once in Minneapolis, her interest in family and local genealogy, which had been steadily growing over the years, burst into full bloom. She spent countless hours at her computer researching, scanning pictures, and posting to the Hesch History Blog and her Facebook group, Morrison County Memories. Even as her mobility decreased in the past few months and her health started to decline she delighted in the discussions taking place online.

Throughout her life, Marlys possessed an incredible talent for being happy in the moment, content with what she had, and not second-guessing herself. She took joy in sitting around the kitchen table with friends drinking coffee, eating popcorn and oranges, and chatting late into the night. She loved trips to the North Shore with her dear friend Moggie, and was happy to have traveled to Europe with her sister Noonie to see places of historical significance to our family. She brought her sense of humor, ready laugh, and creative talents wherever she went, willing to don a chicken suit for a Sweet Adelines performance or create decorative pool noodles for her water aerobics ladies. She was a life-long learner who mastered pretty much anything she put her mind to. She took pride in her beautiful handwriting, rare for a left-handed person. She could harmonize with anyone and always took the alto line. She loved listening to polkas and marches, and preferred her chocolate dark and her sausage course-ground and full of mustard seeds. She often gave nicknames to those she liked best and encouraged children to play with messy art supplies like glitter. She was a wonderful, unique human being.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Josh and Rebecca Sebasky of Minnetrista, her daughter and son-in-law, Emily and Scott Murphy of Minneapolis; grandchildren Kendall and Mason Sebasky and Josephine and Owen Murphy; siblings Lois Messina of Chicago, IL, Noonie Hesch and Kathryn Hesch of Winona, MN, and Allan Hesch of Eugene, OR; nieces, nephews, and a growing crop of their offspring. She will be greatly missed by all those here mentioned and countless others family members and friends near and far. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Marlys’s family would like to thank the staff of MN Oncology (Mpls Clinic), especially Dr. Stuart Bloom, RN Becky Reed, and PA Melissa Peitz for their loving and respectful care over these past three years.

Memorials can be made to the Gale Family Library at the MN Historical Society, or to the local Historical Society of your choice.