Marjorie Parke, 94, of Lead, SD, passed away on Friday, April 14, 2023, at Rolling Hills Healthcare in Belle Fourche, SD.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00am, Monday, April 24, 2023, at First Baptist Church of the Northern Hills in Deadwood, SD.  Interment will follow at 1:30pm at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.  Visitation will be 3:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at First Baptist Church of the Northern Hills in Deadwood and will continue one hour prior to the funeral service at the church on Monday.

Marjorie Lou Willett was born on a farm just outside the small South Dakota town of Tulare to George and Mary Willett. She grew up attending Tulare Public Schools, graduating high school in 1947. Marjorie went on to further her education by attending Dakota Wesleyan University and graduated in 1951 with a degree in secondary education. During her time at DWU she met Raúl Coriano and, after graduation, the two became husband and wife. After a honeymoon trip the two traveled to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico to begin their lives together in Mayagüez. Later she began teaching at Hostos High School and in 1952 she gave birth to a girl, Raquel; in 1958 a boy, Raúl.

In 1959, after losing the love of her life to cancer, Marjorie did not feel deserted on a tropical island. For the next several years she continued raising her 2 small children and teaching high school while embracing her husband's family, culture, and traditions as her own. When God added a new love interest to her life Marjorie made the life-changing decision to trade palm trees for pine trees. In 1968 she packed up her family and moved back to South Dakota to join Harold Parke in holy matrimony. The new family of four made their home in the beautiful Black Hills town of Lead where Marjorie and Harold made their home for the next 50 years. Later they made Rolling Hills Healthcare in Belle Fourche their home. Harold was there for a time before moving to a healthcare facility in Spearfish, then joining his Savior in December of 2019. Marjorie remained at Rolling Hills until the Lord took her Home on April 14, 2023.

Marjorie had several hobbies and passions that she enjoyed throughout her adult life. She liked sewing, gardening, and baking. Her passion was teaching children about her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was Sunday School teacher, Sunday School superintendent, and also taught Released Time classes for the public school system.

Marjorie is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Raquel and Skip Rice of Lead; son and daughter-in-law, Raúl and Lana Coriano of Omaha, Nebraska; as well as five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Raúl Coriano and Harold "Smokey" Parke; parents, George and Mary Willett; three siblings and their spouses.

Arrangements are under the care of Lead-Deadwood Memorial Chapel in Lead, SD.