Marilyn Helen Minard

She was the oldest of nine children. She graduated from Emporia State University. She worked as a special education teacher in Kansas before moving to Arizona, where she taught in the Peoria Unified and Creighton School Districts.

She is survived by her daughter Whitney, who resides in Phoenix, AZ, and her son Benjamin, who resides in Peoria, IL. She is also survived by sister Dianne DeGarmo, brothers Michael (Cheryl) Lavelle, Barry (Kirsten) Lavelle, and Greg Lavelle, all of Phoenix, AZ; sister Carrie Reyes (Tom) of Kingman, AZ; sister Pauline Sill (Jo Heeter) of Oregon; sister Lesa Nuñez of Washington; 11 nieces and nephews, and 7 grandnieces and -nephews.

She was preceded by sister Jamie Nicholos of South Bend, IN. She is also mourned by countless friends and colleagues.

Marilyn loved and cherished her children and all of her family, both blood-related and spiritual. She was an avid reader and one of her last gifts to each branch of her family was a book, specially-selected from her personal library of children’s books.

As a teacher and librarian, she encouraged her students to cultivate empathy and understanding through reading and took great pride in her profession. She always had a thoughtful, personalized book recommendation for her students.

She was a quilter and had planned to attend quilting groups and tackle new projects during her retirement. She had a great love of the outdoors and wanted to travel extensively so she could enjoy the beautiful views across the country. Now she can finally do everything she wanted, unencumbered by sickness or pain.

She fought a hard battle against pancreatic cancer, but never abandoned her hope, faith, or positivity. She was an inspiration in every way and will be missed beyond words.