Marian Rhinehart

Frances Marian Rhinehart, age 90, of Brooklyn, passed away Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Brooklyn Community Estate, Brooklyn. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Grace United Methodist Church, Brooklyn, with Rev. Cephas Davis officiating. Family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2023, at Grace United Methodist Church, Brooklyn. Inurnment will be in the Brooklyn Memorial Cemetery, Brooklyn. Memorials may be contributed to Essence of Life Hospice. Marian and her family are in the care of Kloster Funeral Home, Brooklyn.

Marian is survived by her three children, Dan (Jan) Rhinehart, of Round Rock, TX, David (Pury) Rhinehart, of Tampico, Mexico, and Kathy Ruud, currently of Brooklyn; eight grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; one sibling, Steven Herberth; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Wally; her parents, Wayne and Rebecca; siblings Richard and Carol; granddaughter Amy; and son-in-law Kevin.

Marian was born November 23, 1932, in Reno, Nevada, the daughter of Harold Wayne and Frances Rebecca (Filler) Herberth.  She retained a love for Nevada all her life, especially the smell of sagebrush after a rain.  Her early years were spent in Carson City.  After the beginning of WWII, the family moved to Elko, Nevada, and then later to Sparks (near Reno) where she graduated from high school in 1950.  It was in Elko that Marian discovered libraries and a life-long love of reading.  She loved to tell of her discovery that she could take a book home, read it, and bring it back and get another one.

She had a challenging childhood, but found new joy in high school, becoming very involved in a number of clubs and activities, and especially enjoyed singing in a trio.  Her love of music and of hymns followed her throughout her life.

In 1953, she met a handsome young airman, Wally Rhinehart, then stationed in Reno, and following a 4-month romance, they were married on March 7th, 1954, at Trinity Episcopal Church.  They went on to have three children, Dan, David, and Kathy. In 1965 the family moved to Las Vegas, where Wally and Marian lived until his retirement in 1987, when they moved to Brooklyn.  They had 68 loving years together. They were playful companions and partners throughout their marriage, bringing smiles to people who saw them holding hands into their late 80’s.

Marian’s faith was a touchstone from an early age.  The highlight of her youth was time at Camp Galilee, an Episcopal church camp on Lake Tahoe, where she first deeply experienced God’s love for her.  Well into her last illness, she could still say the table grace she learned there.  Hymns were always important and were remembered when other things started to be forgotten.  Often in the days after Wally’s death, Marian woke up with a hymn in her awareness: “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “His Eye is On the Sparrow,” “It is Well With My Soul.” Even months later, she could still sing the first song she remembered learning as a child, “All Things Bright and Beautiful.”

Marian was also a servant to the community, spending many fulfilling years as a hospice volunteer and trainer in both Nevada and Iowa, and as the local Daffodil Days coordinator for the American Cancer Society.  She loved her time in Emanon, Let’s Talk About It book club, and Brooklyn Methodist Women.

Marian wanted to be remembered as a “people person” and this is undoubtedly true of who she was. She loved people stories, often keeping newspaper clippings and collecting biographies, especially about people who had overcome hardship. Marian treasured particular stories about most of the people in her life and loved to repeat them alongside her famous words and sayings.  Her story has been a part of all of ours, and we are grateful.