LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County native and longtime Lakeport resident Marilyn Belle Davidson Wallace passed away peacefully Sunday, June 2. She was 84.

Born June 10, 1934 in Ukiah – Lakeport had no hospital at the time – Marilyn grew up in the orchards of Big Valley outside of Lakeport, Calif.

Her parents, Clarence and Rachel, grew pears, prunes, walnuts and a big garden on Argonaut Road, where she and her husband, Richard Brindley Wallace, later resettled and built their home in 1965.

Marilyn’s grandparents moved into the county in a horse-drawn wagon over the old Hopland toll road, and her grandmother, Belle Davidson, established the Lake County Museum with local Native American artifacts.

Reminiscing about an idyllic country childhood, Marilyn recalled learning to drive “a Ford Model A stick shift bumping through my dad’s pear orchard.” She would later boast that in all her life’s travels she never received a traffic citation.

Marilyn began working in the pear sheds at age 15, hand-packing pears into wooden boxes and eventually working her way up to weigh master.

After her graduation from Clear Lake Union High School in 1952, Marilyn married Victor Thomas, who was in the Navy, which required the couple to make several moves as they raised two children, Marc and Robbin.

The couple divorced in 1958, as Marilyn took on the difficult tasks of raising two young children while working as a bookkeeper at a number of area businesses, including Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, the El Rancho Resort and James Hurley & Associates, both in Santa Rosa.

Marilyn credits her daughter, Robbin, with introducing her to her second husband, Richard, a Santa Rosa neighbor at the time who was busy raising three kids of his own, Ric, Mike and Ron. The newly blended bunch added yet another member with the birth of Susan in 1964.

Marilyn recalled her days as a mother of six as a whirl of activity, including Boy Scouts, school sports, Little League, Rainbow Girls, and 4-H. “A really great gang, but so busy and they were all mine!” she said.

In her so-called retirement, Marilyn was an active member of the Grace Church in Kelseyville, Order of the Eastern Star and a Hospice volunteer, as well as participating in her Bible study group, Konocti Quilters, Ladies of the Lake and other quilting groups between Lakeport and Ukiah.

In addition to working in her sewing room, Marilyn enjoyed “taking care of my yard full of birds, going to southern gospel concerts, cruising to Alaska and spending time with wonderful friends and family.”

She added, “The kids are all grown up and I’m so proud of each one.”

Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband Richard in 1990, her brother Francis McNaughton Davidson in 1998 and her granddaughter Brooke in 2004.

She is survived by brother, Clarence Orden Davidson of Lakeport; children, Susan Conlon of Santa Rosa, Robbin Edick of Warnerville, NY, Marc Thomas of Lakeport, Ron Wallace of Sebastopol, Mike Wallace of Brasstown, SC, and Ric Wallace of Carson City, NV; grandchildren Riley, Sean, Ben, Carley, Brian, Marisa, Sam, Andrew, Sarah and Nathan; and nine great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, 11 a.m., at Grace Church in Kelseyville.

Please wear blue on Wednesday as that was her favorite color.

Donations may be made in Marilyn’s memory to Hospice Services of Lake County or a church of your choice.