Marlene Lassiter Yardley

Marlene Lassiter Yardley, 85, peacefully went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 28, 2023. She was born on October 25, 1937 to Grady and Bertha Lassiter in Mountainair, NM and had 3 siblings – Imogene, Bob and Jerry. She spent her grade school years in New Mexico. The family then moved to Twin Falls, Idaho where she graduated high school in 1956. She met her husband Bud at Sandia Army Base in Albuquerque, NM and they were married October 30, 1965. Together they were blessed with 3 children: Scott(1969-1970), Sean (Jodie), Rachelle (Keith).

 In November of 1965 they moved to her husband’s hometown of Warrenton, OR. They spent many wonderful years there hunting, fishing, and camping. In 1975, they made the decision to move their family to Twin Falls, Idaho. While living in Twin Falls, Marlene became a volunteer for the Twin Falls Head Start. This led to being a Head Start teacher and subsequently starting the Head Start programs in Buhl and Wendell. She went on to work for the State of Idaho in multiple capacities --- writing grants and coordinating Christmas for Kids for the Community Action Agency; served on the advisory board for Western Governer’s College; was the Head Start Director for the State Board of Education; coordinated the opening of the Oxford House, a transitional home for men being released from prison for which she received an award in 2009 – the Region 5 Advisory Committee Service Award recognizing her as a Community Resource Specialist. Marlene worked tirelessly on substance abuse education programs and the with the Drug Court.

She loved the outdoors and camping. In 2002 at the age of 65, she shot a large bull moose on a hunting trip with her husband in Eastern Idaho. In her retirement years, she and Bud enjoyed many trips to the Oregon Coast. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her grandchildren doing fun things like taking them to get volcano drinks at Daisy’s, having sleepovers, reading stories, camping and fishing to name a few. Marlene loved life and never met a stranger. People fell in love with her everywhere she went and she was still impressing people until her last breathe. She was kind and compassionate and loved the Lord deeply, spending many hours in study of His Word.

The family would like to thank Della, Jayda, Samra and the rest of the staff at Ashley Manor for the care and attention they gave to Marlene. She always had the smile we loved when we visited her and we knew she was well cared for.

We would like to invite friends and family to an open house to celebrate Marlene’s life on Thursday, April 6^th from 5-7 p.m. in the community room at Rosenau’s Funeral Home on Addison Ave in Twin Falls.