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(Member Of CHWC Hospital Auxiliary-Bryan)
Marna Lois Erwin Strait – Burke, age 100, of Bryan, Ohio passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the CHP Inpatient Hospice Center in Defiance, Ohio.
We are very grateful that she was able to celebrate her 100th birthday with family and friends before she passed into eternal life.
Marna was born March 20th, 1925, in Hayden, Colorado, the daughter of Howard and Ethel (Grove) Erwin. Marna married Denver Walter Strait on July 7th, 1946, in Hayden, Colorado at the Hayden Congregation Church.
Denver died on December 16th, 1967, and is buried in Shiffler Cemetery, Bryan, Ohio. On May 29th, 1999, she married Wm. Edward Burke in the Wesley United Methodist Church, Bryan, Ohio. He preceded her in death on Feb. 3rd, 2015. He is buried in Morenci, Michigan.
After graduation from high school in Hayden, Colorado, Marna attended Barnes Business College in Denver, Colorado for nine months. She became a bookkeeper and worked in The Albany Hotel in Denver for 3 years before her marriage to Denver Strait. After their marriage they came to Bryan, Ohio where Denver was employed at The Aro Corporation.
He worked at Aro before moving to the family farm in Bryan, Ohio. Marna helped with the farming and raising their five children. She began working at Uhlman’s Department Store, Bryan, Ohio in 1967 in the accounting department.
Two years later she became employed by The Ohio Art Company, Bryan, Ohio in the accounting department. She retired in 1990 after working for 21 years at Ohio Art.
After retirement Marna learned to play golf, swim, play bridge, do genealogy, quilt and use a computer. She was a very active person and had to find many activities to keep busy. She also loved to read books, complete daily crosswords, and played cards and board games.
Marna became a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in 1973. She sang in the church choir for 25 years, Sunday School superintendent for 6 years, vice-president of United Methodist Women for 6 years, and a member of the church’s missions department.
She loved her church activities and faithfully attended Sunday school and church every Sunday for many years. She was also a lifetime member of CHWC Hospital Auxiliary-Bryan and spent many hours in the gift shop and at the desk.
She was a member of the Williams County Genealogical Society and the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution and a former member of Suburban Golf League
She loved spending time with her family and especially the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Marna is survived by her children, son, Randy (Melva) Strait and daughters Karen (Jeff) Wehman and Jean (Bobby) Aswell, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.
Preceding her in death were her parents, husbands, Denver Strait and Bill Burke, sons, Bennie Howard Strait (who died in Viet Nam), Alan David Strait (Columbus, Ohio), an infant sister, Charlene Erwin, and a brother, Bennie Grove Erwin (Paola, Kansas).
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, from 5:00-7:00 pm at Krill Funeral Home, 860 West Mulberry Street, Bryan, Ohio and on Thursday, April 3, 2025, from 10:00 am-12:00 pm at Wesley United Methodist Church, 903 Center Street, Bryan, Ohio 43506. A service celebrating Marna’s life will begin at Noon with Pastor Steve Rath officiating. Burial will follow at Shiffler Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Wesley United Methodist Church, 903 Center Street, Bryan OH 43506, or the Scout David Williams Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of American Revolution, 7881 State Rte. 576, Montpelier, Ohio 43543-9714.
