DOWNEY - Marilyn Mae Yenne McBride, a longtime Downey resident, died Aug. 24.She was born Aug. 4, 1926 in Alameda, Calif., the only child of George and Jewel. She was working at the PX base in San Pedro when she met James Franklin McBride. They were married Aug. 8, 1947. Marilyn gave birth to their son, Ron, on Nov. 4, 1949. The family moved to Downey the following year and on May 9, 1951, their daughter Cheryl was born. Marilyn and Jim began attending Downey First Christian Church in 1970, and were baptized shortly thereafter. They helped provide needed plumbing work for the church baptistery, and it was Jim's idea to put the shape of a cross on the bottom tiles. In 1977, Marilyn and Jim moved into a mobile home park in La Mirada. In 1979, one week before Father's Day, Marilyn returned home from shopping for Jim's gift to discover that he had passed away from a heart attack. After more than 30 years as a homemaker, Marilyn returned to the workforce. She worked for Gemco stores until they closed in 1986. Then she took a job at PacifiCare, now CareMore, where she worked until her retirement in 1995. She celebrated her retirement with a family cruise to Mexico. In 1989, Marilyn sold the mobile home and returned to Downey, purchasing a condominium to be closer to her family. She is survived by her son, Ron McBride; daughter, Cheryl Belcher, granddaughters, Carrie Yurek, Kelly McBride and Kris Bolling; grandson, Mike Belcher; and great-grandsons, TJ, Tyler, Trey and Nathan. A memorial service was held Aug. 28 at Downey First Christian Church with burial at Rose Hills in Whittier.

********** Published: September 4, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 20