Marlys Martins

     Marlys R. Martins, 84, of Waukon, IA, passed away Sunday, March 15, 2026, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, WI, after some declining health issues for the past eighteen months, followed by a brief illness. Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 21st, at 11:00 AM at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Tom Hollmann officiating. Friends may greet the family from 9:00 AM until the time of services on Saturday at the funeral home. Following the service, lunch will be served at Lids in Waukon. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorials be sent to the Waukon Wellness Center in Marlys’ name.

     Marlys Roseann (Nolting) Martins was born on June 8, 1941, to Albert Paul and Rosa Mary (Dee) Nolting at the Waukon, IA, Hospital, granddaughter to Anton and Martha (Klocke) Nolting and Berthold and Mary (Selberg) Dee. The only daughter and youngest of three children, Marlys spent her days on the family farm just east of Waukon until the age of four to which she began attending the Elk Country School. She was the youngest of her kindergarten class as they needed one more student to join to keep the school open. Therefore, she was sixteen years old when she graduated from the Waukon High School with the Class of 1958, turning seventeen one month after her graduation.

     In the 1960s, she lived in Minneapolis, MN, to attend secretarial school and worked at the Acme Tag Co. for a period of time before returning to northeast Iowa, where she married Duane Martins on March 2, 1974. She was a homemaker on the Martins’ family farm while raising their three children, upon which she entered the workforce when her youngest child entered school. She worked at Swiss Valley Cheese Plant in St. Olaf and was known for being excellent with numbers, then later took a job at Land’s End in West Union, where she worked for the next twelve years. In 1997, she returned to her childhood home east of Waukon with Duane, where they have resided ever since.

     Marlys enjoyed her daily trips to the Waukon Wellness Center to exercise and the camaraderie, and also liked tending to her flowers and spending time with family. She was known for her famous Fudge Jumbles, homemade applesauce, and oatmeal-chocolate chip-raisin-applesauce cookies; her family could never get enough of them! When given the opportunity, she enjoyed an afternoon of playing cards with friends, cheering for her Iowa Hawkeyes, doing a little dancing to some classic country music, or enjoying a Busch Light once in a great while. Weekends with her children and grandchildren playing games at the kitchen table, sneaking a Dove dark chocolate (or two) in for a snack, or watching some HGTV were some of Marlys’ favorite pastimes as well. Marlys was a devout Jehovah’s Witness and was baptized in the faith on November 16, 1985. She loved to visit with people about the Bible and God’s plan for us and looked forward to the time when there would be no more sickness or death when God’s Kingdom rules.

     She is survived by her husband Duane of Waukon; three children: Lisa Martins of Plano, TX, Lynne Martins of Prairie du Chien, WI, and Lonnie (Elise) Martins of Luana, IA; four grandchildren: Tristan (Megan) Martins of Lancaster, WI, Kelleigh Martins of Dubuque, IA, Claire Martins of Iowa City, IA, and Tyler Martins of Prairie du Chien, WI; one great-granddaughter Sadie and another great-grandchild due in September; a niece Rev. Jan (Nolting) Carter, great-nephew Seth Carter, and great-niece Sarah Carter, all of Allentown, PA; and two sisters-in-law: Darlene (Martins) Nuehring of Postville, IA, and Della (Martins) Cowell of Luana, IA. Marlys was preceded in death by her parents and brothers: Leroy Nolting and Leon and his wife Anne Nolting.

     The family would like to thank all of Marlys’ caregivers at Veterans Memorial Hospital, Gundersen (Emplify) Clinic in Waukon and Hospital in La Crosse, Northgate Care Center in Waukon, the support staff at the Waukon Wellness Center, Lori Hackman, and Celia Hollmann as a thanks from the family for her friendship and support.

     Her grandchildren will serve as urnbearers.