Marion Elizabeth Matzen

Marion Elizabeth Matzen passed away on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Fellowship Village in Inwood, Iowa at the age of 100. After a short illness, Marion died peacefully having all of her children at her side during the day.

Marion, daughter of W.T. (Bill) and Lena (Schemmel) Roland, was born in rural Inwood, Iowa on February 18, 1926, the first of six children. She grew up on a farm near Inwood, Iowa and graduated from Inwood High school in 1945.

After graduating from high school, she was a teacher at a country school near the farm she grew up on, teaching some of her siblings. After teaching for a year, she moved to Sioux City to attend business school for a year and got a job typing discharges for soldiers. After that job was discontinued, she was contacted by her husband to be, Walter Matzen, whom she met in high school. He was in the Navy and stationed in Norman, Oklahoma after World War II. He found out that they needed secretaries doing the same thing that she had done in Sioux City. Walter found her a roommate, so she got on a bus and headed to Norman. They were married in Inwood on March 28, 1946. In June of 1946, Marion and Walter moved to the Inwood area, where she was a homemaker while Walter farmed. For a time, she worked at the Canton Inwood Hospital as a nurse aide. Once retired, she and Walter moved into Inwood.

Marion was a member of the American Legion Auxilliary, a VA Hospital volunteer, and an active member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She enjoyed bowling, golf, sewing, along with playing cards with many friends and family. She was a great cook and was well known for her wonderful cinnamon rolls that she baked every Saturday until she could no longer make them. She and Walter enjoyed many years of ballroom dancing and loved to travel; visiting all 50 US states and countries in Europe. While residing at Fellowship Village in Inwood, she enjoyed playing bingo and saved the quarters she won in a piggy bank for a special offering on Miracle Sunday at church.

She is survived by her five children, Dianne (Gordon) Eiesland, Inwood, Iowa, Donald Matzen, Blair, Nebraska, Paul (Shelley) Matzen, Round Rock, Texas, Kim Matzen, Larchwood, Iowa, and Beth (Ron) Hoekstra, Castle Rock, Colorado; thirteen grandchildren and twenty-one great grandchildren (and one coming soon); her brother, Jerry Roland; sister, Dorothy Hanson; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; brothers, John and Gene Roland; and sister, Audrey Painter.

Visitation with the family will be from 12:30 to 1:30 pm on Wednesday, September 2nd at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Inwood. The funeral service will be held after the visitation at 2:00 pm with Rev. Sue Sinclair officiating. The graveside service will follow the funeral and lunch will be served at Bethlehem Lutheran Church immediately following the graveside service. The Porter Funeral Home in Inwood is assisting the family. Condolences may be sent to www.porterfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Bethlehem Lutheran Church or Fellowship Village, both in Inwood, Iowa.