Marilyn Frances McKern, 82, a longtime resident of Mt. Vernon, died Aug. 21, 2011, at Blue Mountain Nursing Home.

Viewing will be from noon-6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, at Driskill Memorial Chapel. A graveside service will be 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at Canyon City Cemetery with Pastor Levi Manitsas officiating. A potluck reception will follow at Clyde Holliday State Park.

Mrs. McKern was born Feb. 9, 1929, in Ogden, Utah, to Howard and Francis (Nye) Southwick. She graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1946. That same year she married Melvin “Shorty” McKern in Mt. Vernon.

She enjoyed working on puzzles, camping, fishing and, one of her favorite activities, evening road hunting. She also liked playing bingo at the John Day Senior Center. When she was younger, she enjoyed bowling, and ceramics and gardening clubs with her friends.

She was well known in Mt. Vernon, where she was a bookkeeper for 40 years at the McKern gas station. She retired in 2008. She always enjoyed seeing people she knew. As a young girl, she lived in a saw mill woods camp in Fox Valley. She spent a year there, hiking to a one-room school.

Survivors include her sons, Duane and Steve McKern of Mt. Vernon; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Shorty, in 2002.

Memorial contributions may be made to Volunteer Services for Carrie Young Memorial Fund through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.