Marlene Loy

Marlene “Rusty” Loy of Indianapolis passed away February 15, 2023. Rusty was born in 1931 to Robert and Margaret Lawson of Indianapolis. She graduated from Howe High School and worked for several years as a receptionist and a librarian before meeting her future husband, Arthur Loy, when he was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison during the Korean War. Their marriage, begun in 1954, lasted for 68 happy years. Rusty’s optimistic spirit and loving strength carried them through good times and bad, including the darkest of times when they lost their eight-year-old daughter Cindy to leukemia.

Rusty was a wonderful wife and mother who was devoted to her husband and children. She created a loving and supportive home for her family and was always full of praise and pride in her children’s achievements. She loved being a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother, and treasured nothing more than spending time with family.

Rusty was a stay-at-home mom active in volunteer work at Crossroads Easter Seals until her kids grew up. At that point, not having been in the workplace for decades, she decided to work at Jacobson’s (and later, Saks Fifth Avenue) and worked her way up from the stockroom to being one of the store’s top commissioned salespeople. She loved fashion, selling clothes, and making money of her own. She worked for almost 20 years, retiring at the age of 74.

A member of College Park Church for 25 years, Rusty attended regularly, thoroughly enjoying the worship and music, until her health prevented it.

She is preceded in death by her daughter Cinda and her brother, Jay Lawson. She is survived by her husband, Arthur Loy, and her four children: James, Debra (Ronald) Stovall, Susan (John) Yates, and Robert (Cheryl); daughter-in-law Tabitha; eight grandchildren: Gordon (Kristine) and Gregory Stovall, William, Matthew, Lucy, Arthur, Abigail and Allison Loy; and two great-grandchildren: Madalyn and Remington Stovall.

Rusty will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Her kindness and her gentle spirit were unique, and she touched many lives over her full and blessed 91 years.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at College Park Church, 2606 W 96th St, Indianapolis, with service immediately following. She will be laid to rest at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens in Indianapolis. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rusty’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.