Marilyn C. Cloud

Marilyn Clara Macha Cloud, 97, passed away June 21, 2019 at Haskell Memorial Hospital. She was born on July 18, 1921 in Bomarton, Baylor County, Texas, the second child of Louis J. and Mary (Marak) Macha. Both the Machas and the Maraks were early pioneers in Baylor County and farmed there throughout the Depression and the World Wars.

Marilyn graduated from Bomarton High School in 1938 and from Draughens Business College in Wichita Falls in 1939, after which she worked as a secretary for doctors in Wichita Falls and for the Commanding Officer of Sheppard Field Regional Hospital. After World War II, Marilyn entered the U.S. foreign service, serving in Canton, China, before it fell to Mao's Communist forces, and in Japan at the Rear Headquarters of the UN forces during the Korean War. Then, at long last, in 1952, she entered college, completing an M.A. in Russian and Far Eastern History at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, in 1957. After teaching high school only a few months, she accepted Joe W. Cloud's proposal and they were married on February 12, 1959. The couple returned to Rule, Texas where Mr. Cloud was a farm owner-operator, and Rule has since been Marilyn's hometown.

Marilyn was a devoted wife and mother, After her husbands death in 1969, she diligently administered the family farms, well into her 90s. She was a dedicated Catholic, both studying and living her faith in honesty and generosity. She served her local church in the altar guild for decades and, as time allowed, taught the young teens' classes. In addition, she was active in the Rule Garden Club, winning numerous county fair prizes for her flower arranging, and in the Rule Philadelphian Club, serving as recording secretary for many years and occasionally organizing their monthly program. Marilyn also enjoyed playing bridge, joking that she won the prizes for "low score of the night."

Preceding Marilyn in death were her parents and her husband, both siblings, George Macha and Eleanor Hoover, and one child, Kathleen Marie.

She is survived by her daughter, Joanne Craig (and husband Mickey) of Hillsdale, Michigan, and two sons, James Cloud of Rule, and Dennis Cloud (and wife Beth) of Chicago, Illinois. Also surviving are eight grandchildren, Monica Fiedorek (and husband Christopher), Patsy, Joseph, Christina, Michael and Matthew Craig; Katie and Joseph Cloud; and one great-grandchild, Meghan Fiedorek.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00a.m., Monday, June 24, 2019 at St. George Catholic Church, 901 N. 16th St., Haskell, TX. Burial will follow services at Rule Cemetery under the direction of Smith Family Funeral Homes, Rule. Visitation will be from 3:00-5:00pm, Sunday, June 23, 2019 the funeral home, 600 Robbins Ave. Rule, TX 79547 followed by a Rosary at 7:00p.m.,  at the St. George Catholic Church.

Memorial donations may be made to St. George Catholic Church: 901 N. 16th St., Haskell, TX 79521, or the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, Abilene, Texas.

Online condolences can be shared with the family at www.smithfamilyfh.com.