Marilyn Louise Hales

Marilyn Louise Hales, 93, passed away on Sunday, August 6, 2017 in Sandpoint, Idaho. Born Marilyn Louise Windsor in Everett, Mass. August 28, 1923. An only child, she adopted twin brothers who lived across the street as well-loved surrogate brothers. She shared fond memories of her mother playing piano and singing on their porch for the neighborhood. (Pre-TV). She lived near the beach and spent many hours playing there. A bright and beautiful child she grew into a beautiful young woman. After graduation from high school, she was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology when the Dec 7th, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. It was especially traumatic for her when because both of her “brothers” perished on the USS Arizona. On her 20th birthday, she joined the USMC in their honor. After a memorable time in Boot Camp, she was assigned to the Pentagon. Disliking her assignment at Pentagon, she requested a transfer. She travelled by cruise ship to Oahu, Hawaii with other Woman Marines. An aviation technician, she often worked in the Hickam Air Field control tower. Most importantly, she worked nights de-coding messages from the troops on the front line in the Pacific. Every morning at 4 am she delivered the decoded messages to the generals and admirals so they could be kept abreast of the Pacific Campaign. At Pearl she made many friends and had many fun experiences with her fellow Marines. Marilyn attained the rank of Sergeant and in January, 1946 received an Honorable Discharge. She was very proud of her military service and loved the USMC. She has been a member of the local Marine Corps League Detachment #1110 for years. She loved attending the annual celebration of the Birthday of the USMC held in recent years at Tango restaurant. Upon returning to the US, she moved to the Seattle area, met and married Lincoln Hales. They had three children, Peter, Janell and John. She leaves 6 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. She and Lincoln built and sold 1700 fiberglass kayaks of all sizes. The children were put to work helping. Marilyn loved the outdoors. She was happiest kayaking, hiking, camping or flying over nature. Lincoln owned a small airplane and they flew together regularly. While on one extended hiking trip Glacier Nat’l Park, she hiked solo more than 300 miles above 8,000 feet. She was an avid photographer and documented many of her adventures with pictures. In later years, Marilyn settled in CdA and opened a candle shop on Sherman Street. She said she made more than 175,000 candles in her lifetime. In addition to her own shop, Marilyn had candles on consignment in many shops in that city. Eventually she migrated to Sandpoint. She and three other women went partners to buy SELKIRK RANCH. Somehow that venture was not entirely successful and she ended up selling out. She bought herself a small mobile home and placed it on a rented parcel of forested land on Selle Road. She continued to sell candles at the Sandpoint Farmers Market to supplement her Social Security. She and a group of seniors met daily at the Monarch Mountain Coffee Shop, where they solved all the world’s problems. If only the politicians would come to such groups, the world would benefit enormously from the wisdom, experience, and insights of those like Marilyn. A few years ago she had a fall, which ended up, over time, with her moving to assisted living, where she thrived and continued to brighten up the lives of everyone she contacted. She was a very spiritual person but not in the normal religious sense. Before she passed, she was sure her mother and others who have gone on ahead were visiting her. She lived until 22 days before her 94th birthday. She was loved. She was love. She will be missed. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Marguerite Windsor and her former husband, Lincoln Hales. A celebration of life, in memory of Marilyn, will be held on Monday, August 28th, from 5:00pm until 7:30pm. The location will be the Sandpoiint City Beach in the covered shelter.