City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Marion Wilbur

Lake Pleasant, New York

Age 92.
Died 08/28/2023.

Marion Wilbur
Marion Wilbur, 92, of Cary, NC passed away on Monday, August 28, 2023. Marion was born to Ardys and Alonzo Hatch and predeceased by her beloved husband of 53 years, Paul Wilbur. She is survived by three children, David Wilbur of California, Diana Belles and husband Gregory of North Carolina, and Donna Wilbur of Virginia, six grandchildren, Sarah, Theodore, and Nathaniel Belles, Emma and Joseph Schirmer, and Colleen Cabral, and two grand-cats, Gigabyte and Ranger Rick. There was nothing more important to her than photos of cherished times with her family.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, she was a city girl who quickly became an Adirondack woman after meeting the love of her life, Paul Wilbur. Marion spent her later years split between Cary, NC and Lake Pleasant, NY. She was a graduate of the University of Southern California, received her master’s degree from Oswego State, and served as an elementary reading teacher. An avid reader, Marion struggled to put down good books. This infectious passion grew into her advocacy and volunteering for the Lake Pleasant Public Library. Marion also loved to tell a good story and was known for saying, “now that’s an interesting story.” Music was a passion woven throughout her life too. She studied violin as a child, loved to sing in harmony, and began piano lessons at the age of 85.

Marion never knew a stranger and lived life to the fullest. She and Paul were always up for an adventure including moving to Germany with three young children. In retirement she and Paul enjoyed traveling to elder hostels around the world. She earned her pilots license at age 60. She enjoyed giving tours of the Sacandaga River Community Park Pathway and was meticulous about ensuring each sign was in the right place.

Calling Marion a Disney-fanatic would be an understatement. She rode her favorite ride, Space Mountain, well into her nineties. Marion was a competitive card and board game player, a theater and symphony enthusiast, an outdoorswoman who loved to ski, fish, and hunt, and an animal lover who treasured having a cat on her lap. She was a passionate bread baker and finely honed her homemade pickle recipe. To Marion, a meal was not complete without a hot cookie or a bowl of ice cream.

Marion’s faith was important to her. She Zoomed into her Sunday School class weekly, rang handbells in First UMC- Cary’s handbell choir, and crocheted prayer squares with her Prayer Shawl Ministry. Marion’s favorite view was looking upon Sacandaga Lake from her picture window. She never lost her sense of awe in the beauty of God’s creation, marveling at how every sunset was unique.

Marion will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. A Celebration of Life service will be held next summer in the Adirondacks.

In lieu of flowers and food, please send check donations in memorial to:

First Cary Food Distribution:
First Cary UMC
117 S. Academy Street
Cary NC 27511,
Memo Line: "Food Pantry in memorial of Marion Wilbur"

Lake Pleasant Public Library:
Lake Pleasant Public Library
2864 State Route 8
Speculator, NY 12164
Memo Line: "Given in memorial of Marion Wilbur"

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.

City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

icon
Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

icon
Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

icon
Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

icon
Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

icon
Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

icon
Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

icon
Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations