Marilyn M. Countryman

Marilyn M. Countryman (née Wendt) died peacefully on August 12, 2026, after a long illness.

She was born April 13, 1931, in Rome, to the late Karl J. and Maude L. Sykes Wendt. After graduating from Rome Free Academy at the age of 16, she worked as a secretary in a law office. She married Richard P. Countryman on February 12, 1955, in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Churchville; a blessed union of over 57 years until his passing on December 9, 2012. As her children grew, she returned to secretarial work for Wayne Towne Paving and at Rome Murphy and Memorial Hospital in the medical records department.

Marilyn was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother throughout her life, and was an active member at Ascension Lutheran and then St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she helped in the office and participated in many ladies' groups and projects. She hated flying but was willing to do so to visit her children and to accompany her husband to his annual Air Force reunions. She lived in Rome almost her entire life until moving to Alaska at the age of 89 to live with her daughter, Bonnie, and then to California in 2022 where she lived in a memory care facility near her daughter, Sheila. Marilyn is remembered by many as a kind and generous friend.

Marilyn is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Bonita Katsur of Burlington, WA, and Sheila and Donald Thompson of Solvang, CA; a son and daughter-in-law, Gregg and Mary Countryman of Greenville, NC; grandchildren Peter (Trish) Katsur, Jennifer (Adam) Sullivan, Rachel Katsur, Joshua (Abi) Katsur, Erik Thompson, Brianna Thompson, Kyle Countryman, and Emma Countryman; and great-grandchildren Andrew Katsur, Liam Sullivan, and Hudson Sullivan. She was predeceased by her sister, Marjorie, brothers, Karl, Robert, John, Gerald, and Ronald, a son Wayne, and a grandson Matthew Katsur.

Relatives and friends may call at the Barry Funeral Home, 807 W. Chestnut Street, Rome, on Friday, August 21, 2026, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM. A short prayer service will start at 2 PM and then her remains will be laid to rest next to her husband, Richard, in Rome Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Friendship House at www.solvangfriendshiphouse.com.

Please offer online condolences at; www.barryfuneralhome.com.