Marlene Culver
October 4, 1949 - December 27, 2023

Marlene was one of ten children. Her siblings were Linda, Colleen, Marilyn, Durla, Sharon, Sandy, Billy, Shawn, Jimmy, and Chuck. At the age of twelve, she and three of her sisters and one brother moved from Rockford, Illinois to Eureka, which is where she called home for the rest of her life. While living in Eureka, Marlene started her family who still have ties to Eureka, most of which remain locally to this day. 

Marlene had many different jobs throughout her life including working as a waitress at Volpes, Stanton’s, and the Benbow Inn. In addition to waitressing she worked at Montgomery Wards and Kmart. In one of her more notable jobs, she tended the bar at Bus’s Place in Willow Creek, where she could control the pool table for hours on end. Anywhere Marlene went she helped others and made the most out of her many talents. 

She was huge on family and is survived by her children Jason & Kevin Foster, and Damon Culver. Marlene took a lot of pride in her grandchildren, Jaymee Foster, Brandin Foster, Cierra & Killian Culver, and Madyson LaChapelle. She took the greatest joy in helping raise her grandchildren and was very proud of all of their accomplishments.

Marlene was proud of her photography collection, especially the ones of her family! In her free time she loved to create colleagues out of anything she could find, and every year you could bet that you were going to receive something crafty with your face on it. No matter how many photos she had, every one of them had a story behind it, and she would love to tell you all about it. 

In about 1967, Marlene married Jack Foster. During their marriage Jack and Marlene found themselves in many places throughout Humboldt County, traveling for work. This led to them having many stories to tell, and their children will cherish these memories for many years. Years later, Marlene met Mike Kowtko and enjoyed being in the family and helping with the raising of his and Robin’s children; Jennifer, Rosanne and Mike Jr. 

No matter where Marlene called home she would put her touch into it, finding crafty ways to decorate and tailor it to her style. She was proud to call herself a lover of hunting and fishing and was quite a great shot in her younger years. She also enjoyed everything from painting to sewing and was a great seamstress, and enjoyed making blankets, and pillows, and fixing up old clothes. Anytime someone needed something to be sewed, Marlene would be more than happy to help. In her later years, Marlene enjoyed spending time with family and watching everything on television from old westerns to Law and Order. 

Please note that there is no service scheduled at this time, if you would like to share stories about Marlene’s life with her family, please reach out to any member of the family that you know.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Marlene Culver’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.