Mardel L. Nutt, 74, of Coldwater passed away Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, March 17, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Church with Rev. Fr. Dan Hyman officiating.
Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 10:15 a.m. at St. Charles. Interment will follow at Dayburg Cemetery.
Arrangements are being cared for by Dutcher Funeral Home.
Mardel was born May 12, 1950 in Coldwater, MI to Delmer & Martha (Covey) Haynes, uniquely named Mardel as a combination of her parents’ names together. She married her best friend, Larry W. Nutt, December 30, 1969, in Coldwater, with whom she celebrated over 55 years of marriage.
Mardel enjoyed childhood with her younger sister, Marie, and brother, John. She was an outdoor girl, growing up in the country, where she loved riding her Welsh pony. As a girl, Mardel helped her dad by counting pounds of butter and jars of milk for his milk route.
She was active in 4-H, attended St. Charles through 8th grade, then attended Coldwater High School where she played clarinet in the band. She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summers. Mardel graduated from Coldwater High School in 1968.
Mardel did clerical work most of her life. She worked in various local businesses, then moved with Larry during his time in the military to Champagne, IL, DeRidder, LA and Frankfort, Germany, where she worked in a German insurance agency selling insurance to GI’s. She considered her time in Germany some of her fondest memories.
Later, she worked for the Branch County Health Department and then Douglas Autotech, until her retirement.
Upon her return to Coldwater in 1971, she and Larry purchased her grandparents’ country home, where they raised their daughter, Angela, and where Mardel lived until her passing. Many family memories were made through the years as they later welcomed two beautiful granddaughters into their lives.
Mardel was a longtime member of St. Charles Borromeo Church. She was a wiz at English, an avid reader, especially murder mysteries, and a master of word puzzles. Mardel loved music and was a gifted musician and pianist. She found great joy in taking her granddaughters to music class.
Mardel enjoyed gardening on her homestead, but her favorite place was northern Michigan, where she enjoyed the outdoors and hunted for mushrooms. Mardel was a phenomenal cook. Although she did not hunt, she took great joy in November’s deer camp.
Mardel often told Angela that she had one purpose in life – to be a good mom. She lived vicariously through her daughter and granddaughters and was always on top of their education, achievements, and sports awards. Mardel found great joy in being a grandma and was instrumental in raising her granddaughters; she was a fantastic mom and an even better “Mygie.”
Mardel is survived by her husband Larry; her daughter Angela Nutt Huntley and fiancé Ty Steele of Portage; her siblings Marie VanAken of Coldwater, John and Julie Haynes of Coldwater; her sisters-in-law Kathi (Ron) Waligora of Quincy, Becky (Walt) Chupek of Lakeland, FL; her grandchildren Sophia, Charlotte, Colin & Ella; many nieces and nephews, including Jada (Josh) Carnell and Ryan (Amy) VanAken, Matt (Lynette) Waligora, Kristen (Josh) Greene, Amber (Jesse) Modert, and Kelsey (Joe) Nemenski, and Julie Trevino.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her mother and father-in-law, Margie and Wayne Nutt, and her brother-in-law, Charley VanAken.
Memorials may be directed to St. Charles Borromeo Church or School or Oaklawn Hospice.
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