Marilyn Kay Moody

Marilyn Kay Moody was born on July 5, 1956, in Arcola, Illinois, to Dorothy, a first-grade teacher, and Merle, a farmer. In her own words, “[she] grew up on the pancake-flat prairie of Central Illinois—and [for the rest of her life preferred] open spaces and distant horizons.” In her youth, she participated in 4-H, played clarinet in the Arcola High School and University of Illinois Marching Band, and as a teenager, became an expert in pinball. She graduated with a B.A. in Teaching of Social Studies and a Masters in Library Science from the University of Illinois.

Marilyn’s love of learning, reading, and writing carried through into her long and successful career as a university librarian. Despite attending college just a short distance from the Moody farm in Arcola, Marilyn embarked on a career that ultimately led to stops in a variety of cities across the country. She initially stayed in the Midwest, taking a position at Miami University in Ohio, followed by nearly a decade at the Iowa State University Library. She next landed in upstate New York, first at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and later at SUNY-Buffalo, where she first held a tenured position. By 2000, she was ready to escape the cold and snowy Buffalo winters, and she took a job at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While there, Marilyn hosted many visits from friends and family, who marveled at her good fortune to be able to take lunchtime walks along the beautiful Pacific coastline. Her hard work and success throughout her career was rewarded when she was named the Dean of the University Library at Boise State University in 2006 (where she loved to cheer on the football team with its famous blue turf), and later Dean of the University Library at Portland State in 2012. Throughout her career, Marilyn was a dedicated researcher, a prolific author, a caring friend and colleague, and a committed educator. Her former co-workers described her as a smart, strong, and no-nonsense leader. They recalled her as someone with strong opinions and standards but always willing to consider different perspectives and put students first.

In 2018, Marilyn retired from academia and moved to Colorado. In her retirement, Marilyn relished the freedom to pursue new passions, like writing and volunteering within the poetry and writing communities in Colorado. She quickly became accomplished as a creative writer and poet.

Marilyn became part of a close community of writers in Colorado. She was an active member of the Poetry Society of Colorado, Northern Colorado Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and other writing organizations. Her fellow writers noted that the poetry community adored and respected Marilyn and appreciated that she could always be relied on to give honest and helpful feedback in a caring way. Marilyn was known for her Midwestern wit that she carried into her relationships and her writing. For several years, Marilyn served as the Membership Chair in the Poetry Society of Colorado. Marilyn strove to bring more people to poetry with a dedication to encourage many different types of people to join the poetry world.

Marilyn published work in Progenitor Art & Literary Journal, Of Rust and Glass, The Solitary Plover, The Great Isolation: Colorado Creativity in the Time of the Pandemic, Chiaroscuro: An Anthology of Virtue & Vice, Fresh Starts: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers, and the Poetry Society of Colorado Centennial Anthology. A 2020 Colorado Book Award winner, Rise: An Anthology of Change, also includes two of her poems. Her poem, “Bomb Friday at the Library,” is a 2020 Pushcart Prize nominee. She was a graduate of the 2021–2022 class of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop Poetry Collective. Marilyn very recently completed a manuscript titled "Flat Land." It is filled with memorable poems that capture rural and small town life through movement, vivid imagery, distinct characters, and a strong poetic voice.

Marilyn’s community of friends extended beyond Colorado. She enjoyed visiting friends across the country that she had made over the years. Marilyn’s friends remember her as a wonderful person and friend with an adventurous spirit who enjoyed traveling with friends and family.

Marilyn was a devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews. As their families grew, Marilyn became an aunt to their spouses and children. She sent meaningful gifts, texted words of encouragement, and provided unwavering support and warmth. Holidays big and small meant cards, scratch-off lottery tickets, Cheryl’s Cookies, and Moonstruck chocolates from Aunt Marilyn. She had a love for technology and made sure her nieces and nephews left Christmas each year with the latest gadgets. She took joy in celebrating the life events of her family, hosting and attending many graduations, sports events, wedding showers, and baby showers.

She was also a devoted daughter, and she remained close with her parents. She and Dorothy spoke by phone almost daily, recounting their days and comparing what each was having for dinner. Marilyn also embraced the role of teaching her mother to use a computer, which allowed Dorothy to follow her passion for genealogy and to keep in close contact with her grandchildren through email. Marilyn embodied many of the wonderful characteristics of her mother, such as her selfless and caring nature. The two shared a love of reading and education.

Marilyn is survived by her siblings Mary Steefel and Connie Meyers; her brothers-in-law David Steefel and Dale Sullenberger and sister-in-law Cleta Moody; her nephew Ryan Moody (Kate Johnson) and grandnephews Lee and Ash Moody; her niece Tera Moody (Michael Knott) and grandnephew Miles Knott; her niece Emily Wilmoth (Ben Wilmoth) and grandnephew Benton Wilmoth and grandniece Claire Wilmoth; her nephew Daniel Steefel (Natalie Steefel) and grandnieces Colette and Caroline Steefel; and her niece Katie Steefel (John Zenk) and grandniece Skylar Steefel. She is preceded in death by her parents Merle Orvile Moody and Dorothy Elizabeth Moody and her brother William Lee Moody.

Memorials are suggested to the Arcola Public Library, Arcola Illinois.

A celebration to honor Marilyn will be planned for a future date.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerchapelhill.com for the Moody family.