Marilyn Frances Meyer passed away as a result of Alzheimer’s on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at Crista Nursing Center in Shoreline, WA. She was 79.Marilyn was born in Minot, ND on December 30, 1932, the third daughter of C.F. and Hazel Anderson. She grew up in Lansford, ND, doted upon by her much-older sisters, Beth and Edith. The affection and admiration were mutual and life-long. Marilyn’s mother instilled in her a love of music and flowers, and a faith-filled yet lighthearted attitude toward life. Marilyn sang solos in public from before she was in kindergarten until 2005, and taught Sunday school at the Lansford Methodist Church at the age of 12. During World War II, she gave her long blonde hair to the war effort, to be used in bomb sights. (During the Vietnam war, she joined Another Mother for Peace). In high school, she played clarinet and sang in the choir, musical talents that she continued to use throughout her life. She also played on the girls’ basketball team. She was a leader among her friends throughout her school years. Ever contrary, she rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers because her sister Beth rooted for the Yankees. Marilyn was especially proud to be a Dodgers fan when Jackie Robinson was called up to the big leagues.
After high school, Marilyn followed Beth into the nursing profession, taking her training at Trinity Hospital School of Nursing in Minot, and working there for a year after her training was complete. She particularly enjoyed her 4-month affiliation at Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1952, when she got to join a crowd that included the Fred Waring Singers to sing for Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower when they were in town for the Republican Convention.
Marilyn and her good friend Norma Siemers decided to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, and for a change of pace, chose a non-Methodist school, the Presbyterian-affiliated University of Dubuque in Dubuque, IA. At the U of D, Marilyn earned room and board by working as a school nurse, sang in the college choir, and joined Zeta Phi sorority, serving as president her senior year. At a sorority open-house in the fall of 1955, she met a first-year seminarian named William Meyer, a Presbyterian from Outlook, WA. Marilyn’s beauty, charm and personality won over Bill’s shyness and dates to basketball games, concerts and movies soon followed. After Marilyn’s graduation, she returned to Minot to teach in the nursing school at Trinity, and the courtship became a frequent, ardent correspondence. Bill and Marilyn were married on August 14, 1957, to the joy and delight of both their families (including descendants).
Soon after arriving in Bickleton, Marilyn joined the Lower Valley Musical Comedy Company and
appeared in many shows, whether as a member of the chorus, chorus director, or in a speaking role. In 1969, she had her star turn as Marian the Librarian in The Music Man, appearing opposite Sunnyside mayor Don Hughes as Harold Hill. Her talent, busy life, and long commute drew attention when the story was written up in the Yakima Herald-Republic, complete with color photographs. A few years later, Marilyn was co-producer of Fiddler on the Roof with her good friend Bettie Laws, a legendary production in LVMCC history.
June 1970-July 1971 was a watershed year for the whole family, with a one-year move to Dubuque for Bill to begin work on his Master of Sacred Theology degree. During this year, Marilyn was the primary breadwinner of the family, with a full-time nursing job at Finley Hospital. Upon their return to Bickleton, Marilyn chose, for financial and personal reasons, to continue in her vocation as a nurse. She was hired as Charge Nurse at Hillcrest Manor Convalescent Center, where she spent 18 years ministering to her patients with compassion and humor. She believed in treating the whole person, seeing to spiritual and emotional needs as well as physical care. This aspect of her work was formalized and strengthened by a series of courses in holistic healing. Marilyn often took her guitar to Hillcrest for singalongs, and regularly brought her children along to sing and socialize with the residents. If things seemed to be getting into a rut, she would liven up the day by roller skating down the halls at perilous speeds, wearing her famous green polka-dot hat. She consistently advocated for both residents and staff, and challenged authority at the least provocation.During the Hillcrest years, Marilyn continued to devote herself to her family, the church, and LVMCC. She was a renowned bread baker, baking numerous loaves as gifts for teachers and the casts of shows, and teaching a course at the high school. She and Bill were among those trained as Emergency Medical Technicians when the volunteer fire department purchased a new aid car, a step that formalized the role she had played for years. Whenever possible, Marilyn was on her bicycle, riding to favorite spots to pick wildflowers or just enjoying the freedom and speed of two wheels.
In 1990, after all three kids were launched and settled with spouses, Marilyn and Bill left Bickleton on a new adventure of interim ministry, serving one year each in Burns, OR and Westport, WA. They settled in semi-retirement in Olympia, WA from 1992-2005. Marilyn continued to use her musical and nursing skills throughout this period. In 1995 (when they were 63 and 65), they took a 200-mile group bicycle tour in Montana that included the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. In 1998, they brushed up their Spanish and went on a short mission trip to Costa Rica. And in 2000, they accomplished a 600-mile bike tour by themselves, from Cut Bank, MT to Minot, ND. Marilyn wasn’t going to settle down in a rocking chair, and Bill couldn’t help but go along on the adventure.Marilyn and Bill were privileged to be present at or soon after the births of 7 of their grandchildren. Marilyn relished the role of grandma (a rocking chair is OK if you’re holding a baby) and would make impromptu Sunday-afternoon trips to Seattle to get a grandchild fix. More organized trips to see the more distant grandchildren also took place on a regular basis.
In 2004, Marilyn received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Because of her career in geriatric nursing, she had no illusions about the future, and handled with admirable grace the need to stop driving and bicycling, and to move from the house in Olympia. (She was, however, heard to say, “No one told me it was contagious.”) In the summer of 2005, the family celebrated Bill and Marilyn’s Golden Anniversary two years early so she could enjoy it. It was a powerful, poignant occasion of music, stories and love. Soon after, Bill and Marilyn moved to Crista in Shoreline, WA, first to assisted living until Marilyn’s care needs surpassed Bill’s ability to provide them. She moved to the nursing center, where she received skilled and compassionate care, and where everyone who heard about it admired her own work in the field. Bill moved into an apartment upstairs and spent time with her daily, feeding her when she could no longer feed herself, holding her hand and talking to her when she could no longer speak. Neal and Karen made weekly visits to sing with and for her, accompanied on Marilyn’s own guitar; Yvonne and other family members participated whenever possible. Neal and Karen sang for her one last time the day before she passed from this life.Marilyn’s decline in 2005 and ‘06 was swifter and more precipitous than anyone in the family or on her healthcare team had anticipated. Statistics indicated that someone in the condition she was in by mid-2006 would not live much longer. Her continued presence with us provoked comments and wonder. Our best guess was that she had something worth staying for – having her hand held by the one she loved, hearing the music of her guitar and her children’s voices – that made it worth it for her to stay with us beyond all expectations.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, two brothers-in-law, and two nephews. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, William Meyer, of Shoreline; son Neal Kosaly-Meyer (Anna) and daughter Karen Eisenbrey (Keith), of Seattle; daughter Yvonne Gauntt (David), of Homewood, AL; grandchildren Holden and Adrien Kosaly-Meyer; John and Isaac Eisenbrey; and Elizabeth, Bianca, Maggie, and Patricia Gauntt; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
A memorial service will be held at University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St, Seattle, 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 29, with burial in the IOOF Cemetery in Bickleton, WA at a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp.
