Marla Rae (Wallner) Shipp, 83, died on Nov. 5, 2025, in Zephyrhills, FL.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Davis-Anderson Funeral Home in Carlinville. Private family burial followed in Union Chapel Cemetery in Girard. Davis-Anderson Funeral Home in Carlinville assisted with arrangements.
Mrs. Shipp was born in Peoria on Aug. 18, 1942, to Otto Fredrick (Fred) and Loretta (Mae) Wallner. She grew up on her folks’ dairy farm outside Girard, attending the nearby one-room school and later in Girard for grade school and high school. One of her highlights in high school was being a tackle on the Powder Puff Football Team. After high school, she attended X-ray technician training at Memorial Hospital in Springfield.
She married Allison (Al) Shipp, a US Navy submarine solar technician, in December of 1961 and moved to California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Connecticut before he retired and they returned to Illinois. She returned to work as an X-ray technician at Carlinville Area Hospital where she became director of the X-ray department. She loved buying and selling antiques. What started as a part-time hobby became a full-time business when she and her husband opened the Lighthouse Antique Mall in Raymond. After selling the mall in 2022, they moved to Zephyrhills, FL. She loved flowers, photography, crafts of many kinds, baking, especially known for her cinnamon rolls, Bible study and most importantly, God and the church which she faithfully attended.
Mrs. Shipp is survived by her husband, Allison Bruce Shipp; children, Thomas (Diane) Shipp of Cohasset, MA; Molly (Brent) Tucker of Lutz, FL; and Penny (Maurice) Lemarr of Troy; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; sisters, Loretta Dodd of Loami and Trudy Theel of Girard; and brother, Gregg Wallner of Lincoln.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Mae Wallner; and brother, Ronnie, of Girard.
Memorials may be made to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville.
Condolences may be left at www.davisandersonfuneralhome.com.
