“When the teacher wants peace and quiet, Marilyn is there to cause the riot.”

This quote from Marilyn’s high school yearbook evokes her spirit: An outgoing, sociable and good-hearted person who was always ready to join with friends and seize the day.

Marilyn was a marvellous wife and mother who was dedicated to her family, and a joyful and generous friend who loved to talk over coffee or a drink, laugh, sing, tell racy jokes and throw a party.

In addition to raising her family, Marilyn was proud to have worked full-time outside the home for a number of years, making fast friends with many of her colleagues — relationships that lasted throughout the rest of her lifetime.

Marilyn was adventurous, energetic and keen on many activities throughout her life including swimming, skating, golfing and skiing. She especially loved to dance, and in later years she took up Zumba with relish and used her experience to choreograph and teach a small private class to her pals, who adored it and had great fun together.

Marilyn was a clever person who picked up skills readily: She made her own clothes for special occasions (a certain glamorous red New Year’s Eve dress comes to mind!), was an excellent cook who could make anything taste good, decorated her house with style, reupholstered her sofas several times, and even refinished her oak dining table set.

She was also adept at writing and performing skits and songs for her local golf club and other community and social events — always happy to pitch in and help create joyful and memorable experiences.

Marilyn loved to entertain and her house was often busy with guests and visitors, especially on the holidays when the family shared Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners — and boisterous New Year’s Eve parties — with close friends.

In her quieter moments Marilyn liked to putter in the garden, take care of her home and spend hours reading — British history and romance novels were some of her favourite escapes.

Marilyn’s life took her from birth in Ontario to high school in Baden Baden, Germany for a period, then to PEI where she first met husband-to-be Malcolm in the RCAF, then to Comox, Terrace, and finally Vernon, BC. She absolutely adored her home in Vernon with its cozy kitchen, view of the hills and pretty backyard garden.

Over the years Marilyn travelled to Vancouver often to visit her children Stephen and Karen as adults, and with Malcolm took trips throughout Canada and the US and to the Caribbean, Mexico, the UK and Europe. She had a natural curiosity and friendliness, and loved seeing new places and meeting new people everywhere she went — forever an independent and free-spirited person who liked to forge her own path in life.

We miss her so.

Marilyn is survived by her husband Malcolm, daughter Karen, son Stephen and daughter-in-law Mary, and sister Karen Wade, along with many nieces and nephews.

(A private celebration of life will be held at a later date. In Marilyn’s honour, please consider a donation to the North Okanagan Hospice Society or a charity of your choice, or plant some flowers in her memory.)