Marilyn "Babe" Agnew, age 83, of Mahnomen, MN, died peacefully at home under the loving care of her family and Hospice of the Red River Valley, on September 2, 2020.

Marilyn Elizabeth Nystrom was born on December 5, 1936, to Harold and Elizabeth "Pug" Nystrom at the old Mahnomen Hospital.   She was the youngest of four children and was quickly coined "Baby" by her family, which she didn't like and changed to "Babe", a nickname that stuck with her throughout her life.

Babe grew up on the family farm near Beaulieu, MN, and attended Jesse Country School, then St. Michael's School in Mahnomen.  Harold and Pug took in many foster children and relatives, so the household was always buzzing with activity.  They were grand central station for their family, something Babe admired and continued that tradition with her family.

A bright student, Babe graduated from Mahnomen High School a year early in 1954.  At 16, she was in a serious car accident and was awarded a small settlement, which she used to help put herself through college at Moorhead State University and the University of North Dakota.

On Dec. 16, 1956, Babe married her high school sweetheart, Chuck Agnew, in Mahnomen and the couple started a family.  Their daughter, Robin, was born in Detroit Lakes, MN, before Chuck enlisted in the Air Force and the family moved to Abilene, TX. He was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while Babe taught at a Catholic school nearby.  Two sons, Chuck, and John were born while the family lived in Abilene.  Prior to moving back to Mahnomen in the winter of 1958, Harold drove a hay trailer from Mahnomen, they purchased a home full of furniture at an estate sale and hauled it back home in the dead of winter.  Many of the beautiful furniture pieces are still being put to good use today.  Chuck and Babe purchased the big house across the street from the high school, where they raised their family and added three more children, Mary, Sandy, and Mark.

Babe taught school in Ada for a year before landing a job at Mahnomen Elementary School in 1960, where she taught 2 ^nd and 3 ^rd grade for decades; she was passionate about learning.  Babe worked at school in dresses and heels, then at home, holding down the fort as Chuck grew his photography business.  Many weekends and holidays were spent at their cabins at Lynwood on South Twin, with friends and relatives peppering the floors with sleeping bags, and Babe fed them all with a smile.  The family often reminisced about their cross-country trip to Lake Tahoe and California in their Griswold station wagon in the mid-70's.  In August of 1983, Chuck unexpectedly died of a blood clot at 45 years old.  Babe endured the tragic loss with grace, independence and strong-will, holding the family together.

In 1999, Babe retired from teaching after 41 years so she could spend more time with her grandchildren.  She also expanded her Agnew Properties rental business.  She stayed very active with the business up until the end of June 2020, when her diagnosis forced her into early retirement.

Babe always stayed close with her relatives, got together often with her teacher friends, and helped found a new network of travel companions.  In 2007, they embarked on their first trip, traveling to Italy.  Nine more trips ensued, the last one in 2019. They saw the world together and had many adventures to Budapest, ziplining across the Snake River in Idaho, touring Graceland, the Kentucky Derby, cruising the Mississippi, Great Lakes, and Jerusalem, to name a few.

Babe was very hands-on with her grandkids and helped raise them all; many stayed with her over the years.  She taught them a wonderful work ethic, and always led by example.  All enjoyed staying weekends and for weeks during the summer.  She also took the grandkids to visit Shawn when he moved to Connecticut, making many wonderful memories.  Babe enjoyed Jake's cooking, loved to listen to Ashley sing, attended many sporting events at MHS, attended Amanda's basketball coaching and volleyball coaching events in Pelican Rapids, followed Dustin's high school athletics and attended many of his events, as well as Jalen's high school gymnastics in Sisseton, SD.   She encouraged Katie to graduate from MIT, enjoyed watching Ben play ball, fostered Brilyn's love of reading and frugality, and admired Michael's ability to build anything, including a chair lift for her, loved going to Addy's volleyball and softball games, Kendall's football and basketball games, Amaya's dance performances, attended Grandparent's Day at St. Hubert in Chanhassen, which is Charlie, Sophia (and Mark's) school and loved their intellectual vocabularies, and attentively listened as Cash talked about dinosaurs and their difficult-to-pronounce (but easy for him) names.

Until earlier this year, Babe volunteered for many years, driving patients to their medical appointments in Fargo, Brainerd, Rochester (back and forth in one day!), and other various destinations, while getting to know people.

Her faith in God was unwavering. Babe was an active member of St. Michael's Church, Catholic Daughters, Red Hatters, the Mahnomen Historical Society, and the Mahnomen Election Board, where she worked countless elections. She was a vibrant, bubbly, hard-working little lady who loved to read, stay up on current events, excelled in math, never turned away a challenge and had a witty sense of humor.  Babe inspired many to pursue their interests, learn new things, never stay idle, and lived her life to the fullest.  She took pride in taking care of herself, walking the streets of Mahnomen in the early mornings with a friend, water-walking at the Mahnomen Pool, tending to her beautiful flowers, and in June painted the entire floor of her garage on her hands and knees.

Babe is survived by her children:  Robin Malmo, Detroit Lakes; Chuck (Barb) Agnew, Mahnomen, John (Jackie) Agnew, Sisseton, Mary Belz, Moorhead, MN, Sandy Agnew, Edina, MN, and Mark (Michelle) Agnew, Richfield, MN;  Grandchildren: Shawn (Brian) Johnson, Jake Malmo, Ben Agnew, Brilyn (Sean) Agnew, and Michael Agnew, Dustin (Kim) Agnew, Jalen Agnew, Ashley (Andrew) Belz, Amanda Belz, Katie (Joe) Agnew, and Charlie and Sophia Agnew; Great-grandchildren: Addison, Kendall, Amaya, Cash, Emerson, Olivia and Honor; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Chuck; brothers, Harlan and Morris Nystrom; sister, Adrienne Piche; and a son-in-law, Ralph Malmo.

A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, August 28, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Michael's Catholic Church, Mahnomen, MN. A Time of Gathering will begin one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Mahnomen.