Marvin Alfred Hepp
A Simple Man's Life Story As Told By His Children
Our father retired from his final job on August 24, 2023.  As most aspects of his life, he went quietly, stoically, with dignity, with his wife by his side, like she has been for 67 years.  No drama, no fanfare.......simply.  He was born in Pinckneyville, Illinois on October 19, 1936 to Cleland and Mabel Foster Hepp.  He was the third child in the line of 6.  Melba, Norma, Martha, Margaret and Cleland.  All preceded him in death but Martha.  A little piece of Dad died earlier in life when his sister Melba died so young.  Dad and Melba were close in childhood as well as adulthood, which gave their family and ours the foundation for many years of memories together.  He enjoyed the goofiness of his sister Maggie and he appreciated so much his relationship with his only brother Ken especially as they progressed from middle age and on.
He married Mom, Joanne Geneva Saddler on June 30, 1956.  They promptly moved to central Illinois where Dad went to work for Caterpillar for the next 30 years.  He and Mom had 5 of us, Kathryn (Jeffrey) Sponholz, Judy (Edward) Marlewski, Rick (Debbie) Hepp, Janet/Autumn (David) Pickett, Margaret (Gary) Frazell.  They raised their family for the next 30 years in Morton, Illinois.  Having 5 children Dad felt the need to supplement his income.  So for 21 years of those 30 years of working at Caterpillar Dad also worked 5 days a week 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. for James Yordy, a local farmer.  He would come home at noon, take a small nap, and then went to work 2nd shift at Caterpillar, hardly ever missing a day.  He would plan the summer two week vacation every year in great detail, trying to take us somewhere different each year so that we would see and experience something new.  Family vacations skiing, trout fishing in the mountains, Disney, the beach, Washington D.C., catfishing in Minnesota, the Dells, Silver Dollar City, Crazy Horse Mountain, Mount Rushmore.  Dad loved history.....so he took us to a lot of places with history.  But if you'll notice they are all very simple places.  He had a sense of humor, at times a little warped, but it was a simple sense of humor.  He liked the simple jokes, nothing sophisticated, the almost hokey kind of humor that would embarrass all of us kids when he acted on it.  After he was diagnosed he informed us to not bring any green bananas or calendars into the house because he wouldn't be around long enough to use the calendar or to see the bananas ripen.  Again, just simple.
Being born into tough times he took on the responsibility of helping to feed his family.  Coming home from school as early as 7 years old to hunt for squirrel and rabbit.  I remember Dad talking about his childhood when I was about 10 and he said that he never wanted to eat another squirrel or rabbit again.
He loved his mother and kept a promise to her of moving back to Pinckneyville after his retirement from Caterpillar to help look after his parents.  Dad had a lot of her qualities.  She was a quiet woman who never expected a lot from life.  She took care of her children and their home during very hard times, but never complained.  She also was very simple.
He was a tough guy to be raised by.  He expected a lot from his kids.  He was judgmental, stubborn and moody.  He would be the first to admit that he made a lot of mistakes.....a lot of mistakes in that area.  He may have not taught us a lot thru words but he taught a masters course with his actions, good and bad.  As generations go, parenting is done a little better each round as you learn what to do and what not to do.  Dad did better than his parents and my three sisters are wonderful parents to their children.  As we all reached adulthood and grandchildren started to appear, we all noticed a different side emerge from both Mom and Dad, but especially Dad.  He became softer, more thoughtful, less judgmental, but still continued his job to teach us all things anytime we asked or anytime we were willing to listen.  He would help fix or build anything anything we asked.  Again, no fanfare, he would just work at whatever was needed.  He loved his grandchildren, all 7 of them, Ashley, Brittney, Jessica, Amber, Justin, Shannon and Trent.  He has 3 great grandchildren as well.  He lived long enough to watch all of his grandchildren reach adulthood.  He spoke often of them and was amazed at how smart they all are and just what good people they are.  But his proudest quality that he would speak of was their work ethic.  That is a quality that is very important to a simple man, just as important as keeping your word and being on time.  He passed those qualities on to his children and he has seen those qualities in all of his grandchildren as well.  Upon moving back to Pinckneyville, he and Mom built their "cabin in the woods".  Dad's real pride and joy though was his pond that he dug.  He and Mom took on several different jobs when back in Pinckneyville.  They painted propane tanks, he worked for local farmers and they did a lot of mowing --- cemeteries and the church.  He was the goofy guy that you may have seen that strapped several push mowers together and pulled them with a riding lawn mower to mow a really wide swatch.  Goofy and simple, but it got the job done.  He always said that he could walk outside of his house and he could find 10 jobs to do everyday that would keep him busy.  He built his sheds, his dock, mowed around the house, worked on all of our cars until they became so computerized that it was over his head.  He worked hard his whole life.  He didn't expect much and didn't require much.  He loved a good car race, a good boxing match on tv, a Chicago Bears football game and his eyes lit up at Christmas when his gift was any kind of a tool.  Christmas at our house was different than most.  Christmas Eve night or VERY early Christmas morning Dad would wake us all to unwrap gifts by shooting his shotgun out the front door pointing towards the sky and yelling at Santa and the reindeer to get off the roof.  We are probably the only kids around that can hear a gunshot blast and expect gifts immediately after.  That's about as flashy as he would get.
He would always buy the cheapest thing when he needed to purchase something that he needed because he didn't want to take money away from something else that the family might need.
He was just a simple guy.  He didn't scream for attention and wasn't looking for the pat on the back.  He obeyed all laws and rules.  He knew how to be a good friend, a good neighbor and he never lied about anything.  His favorite color is blue.  He enjoys a good meatloaf for Sunday dinner.  His favorite song was Elvis Presley singing Blue Christmas.  When he found out that he was dying his biggest concern wasn't for himself...he just wanted to make sure that his sweetie of 67 years would be ok.  He always thought that he was no big deal, nothing special, just a simple man but any of us who know him, we know different.  He was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life.  Simple....I think not.  We should all be so lucky to live a simple life.
Dad, the answer to your question is simple....Because of everything that you've done and taught us all our life, we will all be ok and Mom will be ok.  We love you and will miss you but we will see each other again......
It's that simple.
Dad's Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 A.M., Saturday, October 14, 2023 at the Calvary Baptist Church in Sparta, Illinois with Pastor Tim McIntyre officiating.
Friends may make memorials to Hospice of Southern Illinois and will be accepted at the service or at the funeral home.
Searby Funeral Home in Du Quoin is in charge of arrangements.
*** Before Dad met the angels up above, he met some real angels here on earth who were a true blessing not only to Dad, but the entire family.  We owe a debt to these people that can never be repaid.  These angels helped Dad and the family deal with the most difficult time that a family can face.  Once these angels came on board we truly felt that we were not alone and that we could weather the storm.  Dad was a very proud and private man and was not one to easily ask for or accept help.  These people, always with a smile on their face and an optimistic attitude made him comfortable in every way.  We cannot sing the praises enough about Hospice of Southern Illinois, specifically Nurse Mandy, Aide Jessica and especially Nurse Matt.  Thank you three so much for the kindness and compassion and respect that you afforded our father.  He truly thought the world of you three...especially "his man" Matt.
**** Our own family angels that flew in to help when we needed it the most.....Our cousin Debbie Segelhorst and son-in-law/husband David Pickett.  We will never forget your selfless acts.  You two pulled us out of the water when we felt we were about to drown and didn't know which way to go.  Watch the doorways from now on so that your halos don't scrape.
Dad knew you were both there and he was glad it was family.