Marilyn (Lynn) Joyce Sobotka passed away peacefully on August 28, 2024, at Maple Knoll Village in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was born on December 27, 1928, in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Wayne Hugh Copeland and Mabel (Norgard) Copeland.

Marilyn grew up in Council Bluffs and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1947. During high school she was a cheerleader and involved in music and theater. Marilyn attended Iowa State University where she met and married Bernard Andrew Sobotka. They moved to Bernard's hometown of Diagonal, Iowa to farm and start a family. Bernard and Marilyn were married 68 years. Marilyn was a busy homemaker, raising 5 children, and later in life completed the Southwestern Community College LPN nursing program. Bernard and Marilyn moved from their farm east of Diagonal to Sun Valley Lake in 1986. In 2000 they moved to Creston, Iowa and in 2010 moved to Cincinnati, Ohio near their children, Kathy, Jon and Jodi.

Marilyn and Bernard were long time members of the United Church of Diagonal. She and Bernard enjoyed dancing and playing cards with friends. Marilyn was in the Mt Ayr Choral Club, the Tuesday Club and a quilting group. Bernard and Marilyn spent their retirement years traveling and visiting their grandchildren. Over the years, they enjoyed special vacations in Jamaica, Hawaii, and went to Germany/Austria/Prague/Czech Republic with son Dennis and his wife Nancy. Grandma Lynn was always ready to bake some cookies and attend her grandchildren's sporting events and performances. Marilyn was an animal lover, especially dogs. She enjoyed many of her own over her lifetime – Patsy, George, Sparky, Mitzi, Freckles, Sibby, and Hugo just to name a few! She also loved that her children and grandchildren now share her love of dogs and have many of their own. We all agree she was the BEST GRANDMA EVER!

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, Wayne and Mabel, brother Don, husband Bernard, and grandson Joseph Andrew (Drew) Sobotka. Marilyn is survived by her five children: Kathy (Ron Beymer) of Cincinnati, Ohio; Dennis (Nancy) of Ogden, Utah; Kim of Phoenix, Arizona; Jodi (Jeff Nerad) of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Jon (Jenelle) of Bluffton, South Carolina; her five grandchildren: (Kathy – Courtney (Jeff) Damon and Andee (John) Schneider; Kim -Megan (Adam) Page and Dylan (Arielle) Hendricks; Jon – Jamie (Chris Graham); her great-grandchildren: Jackson Damon, Ellie and Sophie Schneider, Holden, Harrison, and Oliver Page, Thea and Sloane Hendricks; and many other relatives.

The family will hold a private celebration of life together in lieu of flowers. If you wish to make a memorial donation:

Drew Sobotka Memorial at the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

https://bbrfoundation.donordrive.com/campaign/In-Memory-of-Drew-Sobotka

The United Church of Diagonal

400 Adams St, Diagonal, IA 50845

The Cincinnati Animal Care Shelter

https://cincinnatianimalcare.org/