Marjorie Ruth Layton of Atascadero, almost 96, passed away on November 10, 2020.

She was buried in the Atascadero Cemetery on November 19, 2020. A loving gathering of 15 family members and close friends was there to honor her.

Marjorie Ruth Staley was born in Wellsville, Kansas, to Lloyd and Mary Staley on December 13, 1924, the third of 9 children. Her childhood was spent as part of a hard-working and resourceful family in the midst of the depression, but she never recalled being cold or hungry. They faithfully participated in church and enjoyed picnics as well as each other. She attended elementary school in Garnett, Kansas, junior high, and high school in Kansas City, Missouri. Her interests were history and journalism. She also graduated from Kansas City Junior College with a major in journalism.

As a young woman, she traveled to Fresno, California, where her brother lived, to continue her studies at Fresno State. Instead, she met her husband, Glenn Layton, at a church picnic. They were married on December 3, 1947, at Troost Gospel Hall in Kansas City. They lived in Fresno briefly before moving to Atascadero in 1948. They established their family of 4 children, Layton Tree Service, as a family business and helped form Atascadero Gospel Chapel, where she served in many ways until her death. She also gave her heart and time to Child Evangelism, Tree of Life, and Loaves and Fishes. If you wish to give a gift in her honor, any of these groups would be grateful.

Marjorie is preceded in death by her son, Glenn Lesley, Jr., her husband, Glenn, and her brothers Warren, John, Robert, Benjamin, and David Staley.

She is survived by her daughters, Marjanne Claassen (Duane), Wendy Whaley, and Peggy O’Malley (Tom); her brother Malcolm Staley; her sisters, Ida Mae Keller and Mary Louise Bush; Eight devoted grandchildren, and 17 beloved great-grandchildren.