Marylou Slick ~ Matriarch, Mother, and More!  (****Insert the heading with Script text for the name and heading on the featured image - The text below under the photo on pg1)

Imagine a little girl running carefree through the meadows in the late 1930s and early ’40s. She grew up in a tiny little town near Eugene, Oregon called Vaughn. Well, that was Marylou, living her life carefree. Little did she know, the matriarch she would live to be, nor did she know the many lives she would touch along her lifelong journey. It also didn’t cross her mind that she would grow up to help create a huge family, and that she would be an ambassador of love, strength, and courage to all of them.

Marylou is a mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and great friend to many. She was married to her loving husband, Lowell for 63 years before his passing in January 2021. They both attended Willamette High School in Eugene, Oregon and later, unbeknownst to them at the time, they both also attended the University of Oregon. It wasn’t until after Lowell returned from his service in the Army that they started dating. They married on September 8th, 1957. It was many, many years of love, laughter, some tears, and a lot of great joy. They had three children: Dan, Angela, and Scott. Those children grew up and gave them fifteen grandchildren, and those children have blessed them with twenty-two great-grandchildren thus far. She also has many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. Marylou never misses a birthday card in the mail for that big crew. Let’s just say, it’s a passion of love and a lot of stamps.

Not only is she a brilliant mom, but she is also a brilliant writer and cook. She has always enjoyed recipes and is quite a collector of them, putting her own spin on them, as many in her family have special dietary needs. Not only would her kids come running when they smelled her spaghetti, but their friends would arrive with huge appetites and clean her huge pot bone dry. Her daughter, Angela, has attempted to follow in her footsteps with a passion for cooking. However, she will never attempt her mother’s pies. She says her mom raised the “pie bar” too high and all the kids would say, “We only like Grandmas’s pies!" She continues to share her baked goods and dinners with friends, neighbors, and family. As if her fabulous baking wasn’t enough, Marylou and Lowell would often adopt people in need into their home. Many of her kids' friends and foreign exchange students were welcomed into their home whenever needed. They were always lending a helping hand to loved ones, friends, and even strangers. They really were, and remain great role models and examples of sacrifice and giving.

Marylou moved from Oregon to Carefree, AZ in late December 2020. Before her big departure from a state where she lived her entire life, she had a devastating loss. She had just lost her youngest son, Scott, to cancer. She felt the calling to be near her son Dan, and daughter Angela, who both live not far from her home in Carefree. Sadly, she lost her husband Lowell just days after their arrival in Arizona. It is unbelievable to her the kindness of her neighbors and the amazing kinds spirits of the people who live here. Although she has been through many bumps and bruises along the way. She is supported by her faith, family, and friends who give her strength. With the many losses, she relies on the blessing of great memories. She always says, “I just remember to give even more grace and love to all who still remain with me.”

Regarding her faith, at almost 86 years of age, she started a Bible study at her home. She just loves sharing her faith in God with others and how her faith picked her up through all the highs and lows throughout her life. She is the epitome of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

We must mention, besides her great family accomplishments, back in her day she was a very successful real estate professional and previously enjoyed a career as a legal secretary. As a major in English, she has continued to develop her writing skills. She is currently finishing up the “memoirs” of her life. Marylou also has been writing a family and friends newsletter for over 20 years. Everyone who receives it each Saturday morning fondly calls it the “SME,” which is an abbreviation for the “Saturday Morning Email.” It is a compilation of weekly achievements of her family, friends, and special memories. It is also full of events, birthdays, scriptures, poems, recipes, and jokes to share. She hopes it will put a smile on at least one face each week, and it’s a great way to keep her family and friends in the loop. The family shares that it is very much appreciated by all.

She feels blessed to have such close relationships with her son and daughter and says it is a huge blessing to have them living close to her. She is so grateful to have several of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren living in the area too. She shares a very close “birthday bond” with her daughter Angela because Marylou gave birth to her on her birthday. She says little Angela Dawn was the best birthday gift she ever received. They are soon to be celebrating 59 Birthdays together on June 9th of this year, when Marylou will be 86 years young.

We could write a book about Marylou and her abundant life, but I suppose that is what we will see in her upcoming memoirs. This very humble lady has provided a legacy of faith, love, kindness, strength, and endurance that will live on and on.

Angie-Slick-Wright - (****Insert name big here - similar font to the heading on top - This is at the top of page 3)

Also featured on the cover is the daughter of Marylou, Angela Wright. You may know her as Stroll magazine resident contributor Angie Wright.

Angie has nine children with her husband Steve. They both grew up in Tigard, Oregon, a suburb of Portland, OR. They attended Tigard High School together and were high school sweethearts. Steve went on to college and Angie went on to her professional dance career in Los Angeles, where she was a cheerleader for the LA Rams and performed on many television specials as well as music videos in the 80s. Angie and Steve reunited after some success and feel they have been far more successful together than apart.

After most of their lives spent in Tigard, and raising their kids there for a short period of time, they soon moved to another beautiful suburb out of Portland called West Linn. They raised their children in what was a beautiful town to them for over 25 years, but they were disgusted and saddened by all the destruction of their beautiful state. They had to get out. They visited friends in Desert Mountain and their dream home fell into their lap. So they picked up and moved in 27 days, leaving their adult kids in disbelief. They both feel it was the best move ever made in their lives, and so Angie and Steve moved here to Desert Mountain in the Fall of 2020.

Their adult children range from 23 to 40 years of age. Three daughters and six sons. They feel very blessed to have three of the nine adult kids living close by as well as four of their grandsons. Of their nine children, they have four married, soon to be five. They have ten grandchildren thus far and feel there will be many more to come. Angie says she needs to build a bigger mantle, as she already has 27 stockings to hang at Christmas.

Due to all the years of gymnastics and dance, she has had many injuries and surgeries. She says she had to hang up the tap, jazz, and ballet shoes. After dancing, performing, and teaching for over 50 years she felt she had to turn her creativity towards something else. So she found writing. She currently has one book out; “What if Sometimes Was Always,” available on Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon. Her second book, “Always Look Up” is soon to be published, and she also very much enjoys writing for our magazine.

Angie feels this move has healed her in more ways than one. Her therapy is swimming every day and soaking in the sun as she writes. She is constantly aware and appreciative of the beauty all around us. 

Although she feels she is not deserving of her countless blessings, she is on her knees grateful. Along with her mother, she has suffered great losses and ups and downs. She also leans on her faith. She is very proud to be the daughter of Marylou and Lowell and contributes all her success in life to them, and of course, her awesome God.

Angie's columns in Stroll magazine have made her the largest resident contributor to date and through her participation, she has become part of the Stroll family. Her mother, Marylou Slick has also become friends with Publisher Britt Bennett's mother Jean. Marylou started a bible study and Jean attends whenever she can. Britt recalled one of his childhood memories and wrote a piece to honor her for this Mother's Day special edition.

What I Learned After Death Valley

A Mother’s Day Story

By Britt Bennett

Growing up, my best friend and neighbor was from a wealthy family. Mine, I remember learning in school, was lower middle class. My friend and his family eventually moved to a nicer neighborhood, but he still invited me on his many family trips. I learned a life lesson after one of those trips, which has stayed with me, and I have my mother to thank for that.

It was my father who came to pick me up after my friend and his family had taken me to Death Valley over Thanksgiving. We stood in the driveway of my friend’s home in Newport Beach, loading my duffle bag and gear back into my dad’s car.

“How was it?” my dad asked.

“It was AMAZING!” I answered. “We saw wild horses! We even chased them on minibikes! And there were these old mine shafts that we didn’t want to go near because they were so deep and scary. And at night we slept outside, and in the morning we had to shake our shoes out in case tarantulas had crept in, and…”

I continued to ramble on and on about the adventures we had just come from.

Then my dad asked my friend how the trip had gone.

“It was okay, I guess,” he answered unenthusiastically.

I was quiet on the drive home. It was slowly sinking in: my friend had so much, but he appreciated so little of it. Even then, I knew I had inherited something special from my mom — the gifts of gratitude and appreciation.

Maybe it was because she was born right after the Great Depression and raised by parents who had weathered those lean days. Maybe it was just a gift she was born with. But back then — and to this very day — my mother never takes anything for granted. She is grateful and appreciative of everything. I know this because I’ve seen her face when I’ve given her flowers. Or taken her to dinner and seen her childlike glee over all the choices on the menu. Sometimes I’ll be working into the evening and she’ll interrupt me with a call: “Britt! Hurry up and go see the sunset!”

Because of those gifts, I grew up much wealthier than my friend.