Marla K. Drury, 77, of Fulton, IL, died Friday November 8, 2024, at her home.
Marla was born April 23, 1947, in Clinton, IA, to Raymond W. and Marjorie J. (Boelkens) Hartman. She was educated in the Fulton Grade Schools and was a 1965 graduate of Fulton High School. She pursued a Nursing career at Moline Lutheran Nursing School, graduating in 1968 as a Registered Nurse. On November 10, 1967, she married Craig Drury at Trinity Reformed Church in Fulton. They spent the next 57 years working and raising a family together. Marla was employed as a Registered Nurse for 42 years. Marla’s greatest joy in life was spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She also enjoyed traveling, spending the first 18 months of marriage working at the Army hospital in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Army base medical clinic in Nelligen, Germany, while Craig fulfilled his military enlistment. During that time, she got to experience her first Army helicopter medical evacuation, transferring a patient from the base to the medical hospital. Her career was dedicated to caring for people in various capacities, from Surgical Nurse to Pediatric Nurse, to the nursing home setting, then traveling the County roads as a Visiting Nurse for the Whiteside County Health Department. Marla continued her calling after retirement, caring for family members in need.
Survivors include her husband, Craig; daughter, Krista (Jason) Baker of Morrison, IL; son, Todd Drury of Fulton; five grandchildren, Paige, Logan, and Gavin Baker; Makenzie Drury and Dylan (Bridget) Drury; six great-grandchildren, Lyric Drury, Paityn Drury, Hendrix Drury, Kaiden Beswick, Lucas Beswick, and Ava Rose Bradley; sisters, Rita (David) Dragt of Wilmar, MN, Sheila (Randy) Balk of Davenport, IA, and Londa (Rev. Daniel) Wiersema of Cedar Rapids, IA.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Cremation rites have been accorded.
A private family memorial service will be held.
Interment in the Garden Plain Cemetery, Fulton, IL, will be at a later date.
A memorial has been established by the family.