Marlo Gilbert Prehn
Oct. 4, 1927-June 3, 2016
Mountain View, California

Marlo Gilbert Prehn, passed away in Mountain View, California, on June 3, 2016. He lived in Palo Alto for 47 years before moving to Mountain View to retire with his wife, Ruth.

He was born on a farm in Clear Lake, South Dakota in 1927. After graduating from high school he joined the Merchant Marines in 1945. In December of 1946 he married his childhood sweetheart, Ruth Staley, with whom he had four children. He moved from South Dakota to Palo Alto in 1953 where he worked for Oddstad Homes, which was responsible for building 17,000 homes in the Bay Area as well as numerous office buildings and shopping centers in Redwood City and Pacifica. He started out as an equipment operator, moved to accounting, then property manager and finally a real estate broker for the company. In 1971 he was able to open his own real estate company, Prehn Realty, and continued to work in real estate until his retirement in 2000. He lived a full and wonderful life. He enjoyed spending time with his family, travelling, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and made friends wherever he went with his amazing sense of humor and kindness.

He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Ruth Prehn, and four children, Mark Prehn, Nancy Boling, Gary Prehn and Joy Helsaple. He also leaves behind eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A celebration of life is being planned in early October. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Marlo's name to The Make A Wish Foundation.

Tags: veteran