Marilyn Adele Newman

Marilyn A. (Cook) Newman, beloved daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother passed away peacefully and painlessly on Friday, March 29, 2024, at Bethesda Gardens Senior Living Home in Monument, Colorado. She was born on October 15, 1933, in Dunlap, Iowa.

Young Marilyn, “Cookie,” grew up with her nurturing, older sister, Glenna, in a farming environment, surrounded by numerous cousins. From her early years forward, Marilyn was admired by those who had the chance to meet her. She was always smiling and outgoing, making friends easily.

After graduating from Cheyenne Central High School in 1952, she went to work as a secretary for Wyoming Wildlife where her life intersected with John L. Newman, a handsome, young game warden with the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. They got married in Cheyenne on March 28, 1953, and about a year later had a son, Blake. Shortly afterward, they moved to Lusk, Wyoming where Marilyn gave birth to a daughter, Gayl. After several happy years there, they moved once again and settled into their new – and permanent - home in Laramie. In 1960, they welcomed their third child, Kirk, and the Newman family was now complete.

For the next 60 years, John and Marilyn lived, worked, and made countless friends, raising their three kids with incredible love, and set an example for each of them to follow. Marilyn worked for the Albany County School District in various jobs, in both the junior and senior high school cafeterias, as a high school administrative secretary and later as an assistant teacher. Wherever she was, whether working or socializing, this sincere and fun-loving lady brightened up any room.

Marilyn and John were avid sports fans of the University of Wyoming and were football and basketball season ticket holders, as well as devout Cowboy Joe Club members for several decades. They were recognized and honored as Top Fans by the Wyoming Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

Once they were both retired, they spent many years traveling to most states around America as well as many countries around the world. In 2017, John and Marilyn begrudgingly left Laramie and moved to Monument, Colorado where they could live closer to their three adult children and grandchildren. She was an active and energetic member at Bethesda where her competitive spirit was challenged daily as she enjoyed playing card and board games with other residents as well as her loving family members.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, Galen B. Cook and Ethel N. (Fouts-Cook) Steinhausen; her sister, Glenna (Cook) McDaniel; husband, John; and grandson Michael W. Newman.

She is survived by her son Blake (Jane) Newman; daughter Gayl A. Newman; son, Kirk E. (Kathryn) Newman; two grandsons: Lucas T. Newman and Kendall G. Newman; and two granddaughters: Brianna L. (Newman) Fritz; and Katelyn M. Newman.

A private burial service was requested by Marilyn, and her ashes will be buried together with those of her husband, John, in a private family ceremony atop one of the several mountains that oversee their favorite city in the world: Laramie, Wyoming.