Marlene Sumpter crossed the River Jordan on October 28, 2025, surrounded by her loved ones.

She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Erwin and Dorris Rumpf on August 18, 1941. Erwin and Dorris bought a 178-acre farm in LaMonte, Missouri when Marlene was a little girl. She used to talk about taking a bath in a Number 2 washtub before Erwin built their family home. After graduating from high school, Marlene worked as a nanny and housekeeper in a pastor's home before enrolling in a secretarial school in Sedalia, Missouri where she learned shorthand, typing, and how to use a mechanical calculator. Before she graduated, she was offered a job at Town and Country Shoe Factory in Sedalia, working in the payroll department. One of Marlene's fellow workers set her up on a blind date with her future husband and love of her life, Ed Sumpter, and they were married six months later on March 3, 1962, at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Sedalia. Shortly after their marriage Ed, who was in the Air Force, was sent to Wiesbaden, Germany. Marlene arrived there several months later. Marlene and Ed's first daughter, Debra, and their second daughter, Teresa, were born less than a year apart from each other. Marlene enjoyed collecting antiques and decorating her house.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Erwin and Dorris Rumpf, her brother, Roger Rumpf, and her husband Finis Edward Sumpter.

She is survived by her sister Nancy Morton (Terry) daughters: Debra Thompson (Michael), Teresa Sumpter (Michael Robinson), five grandchildren: Caleb Thompson (Tanya), Emilie Thompson, Chantal Taylor, Melody Taylor, David Pulse, and three great grandchildren: Lucas, Mason, and Peyton.

A graveside service will be held on Friday, November 7 at noon at the Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, MO where she will join her beloved husband in eternal rest. Her family is appreciative of the excellent care she received at the Meyer Care Center in Higginsville, MO. Memorials may be made in her memory to the charity of your choice.