Marlene A. Smelser

Marlene Smelser of Westfield, IN, passed away on August 7, 2026, at the age of 86. She was born at Mt. Carmel Hospital in Detroit, MI, on October 9, 1939, to parents, Marcel and Louise (Adams) Dunn. She grew up with her parents in Wayne, MI and graduated from Wayne Memorial High School in 1957.

Marlene married Herbert Leo Smelser Jr. on August 9, 1958. Together they spent nearly 68 loving years together. Throughout their lives, they lived in Wayne, MI, Westland, MI, South Lion, MI, Three Rivers, MI, Carmel, IN, and Westfield, IN. Marlene served as a nursing home aid, a Hallmark sales associate, and most of all, a wife and mother.

Marlene loved being a helper, comforting and aiding the residents of Whitehall Nursing Home, hosting traveling preachers in her home, providing meals for church members who needed it, and helping desperate husbands find last-minute cards and gifts for their loved ones at Hallmark.

She is survived by her husband, Hebert, her children, Cynthia Netherland and her husband Jim, Thomas Smelser and his wife Jill, Craig Smelser and his wife Belinda, Paul Smelser, and Robert Smelser and his wife Crystal Harrison. Furthermore, Marlene was blessed with thirteen grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren. As an only child of only children, having a large family was important to her, and she was certainly blessed with a large, loving family.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her daughter-in-law, Lynn Smelser.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Marlene’s honor may be made to The American Cancer Society.

A Funeral Service will be held at 1pm, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at Flanner Buchanan - Carmel (325 E. Carmel Dr. Carmel, IN 46032). A visitation for family and friends to gather will be held prior to the service from 11am – 1pm. Burial will follow services at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery