Marilyn Louise Douglas

Marilyn Louise Dalton was born January 16, 1933, at Eben Ezer Hospital in Brush, Colorado. Her parents Ray and Frances brought her home to Otis, Colorado, where she was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in February of that year. She and her younger sister Jane grew up in that small town on the eastern plains, where her father worked for Continental Oil Company (Conoco), delivering gasoline and oil to the neighboring farms. After graduating from Otis High School, Marilyn entered University of Denver School of Nursing. 

She had met Stan Douglas when he worked at her father’s service station in Otis, and they courted over the next years, as Marilyn continued her studies and Stan was invited to spend some time in Germany as a guest of the US Army. They married in Otis on September 4,1954, four years to the day after their first date. 

Their first home was a one room apartment at 17th and Ogden in Denver. Marilyn was still in nurse’s training, and she was required to live within walking distance of the hospital. No excuses for not being able to get to work like “My husband took the car and I don’t have any way to get there.” 

After her graduation, they moved from the 17th street apartment to the “Mile Hi Motel” on West Alameda Avenue. They lived in a single room with a kitchenette and a Murphy bed, which could be put up into the wall during the day so there was more room to move around. The place was very cozy—they could stand in middle of the kitchen and reach the sink, the stove, the refrigerator and the table without taking a step! 

When rent went from $100 a month to the summer rate of $100 a week, they decided it was time to move. The couple bought their first house on West Byers Place—the first house on the street—moving in July 1955 when the home was finished. (However, the streets and curbs and gutters were not finished, and were finally put in the following spring.) They had no table or chairs so they sat on the couch and used the adjustable ironing board as a table. 

A month after the move, they welcomed their daughter Kimberly to the family. Marilyn worked at Beth Israel Hospital and then later at St. Luke’s Hospital. Stan found employment as a cement finisher, and started his own flat work cement finishing company in1966. When that proved to be hard on the knees long-term, he bought his first loader and started Stan Douglas Excavating in 1971. Marilyn retired from nursing in 1974, and learned to do bookkeeping for the family business, and then transferred the process to computers in the 1980’s. Marilyn kept the books until Stan retired in 2009. 

Meanwhile, their family had continued to grow. Larry was their second child, born in November of 1956. Marilyn and Stan’s second daughter Susie was born in April of 1958. They learned she was severely mentally disabled, and years later made the difficult decision to place her at Ridge Home in Wheat Ridge, where she passed in 2002. Mike was their fourth child, born in October of 1959. 

In 1961 the family moved to a three-bedroom ranch style house on South Wolcott Court, which became the “family homestead”. Stan built a 2½ car garage in 1967, and decades later, built an addition to accommodate visits from their expanding extended family. Marilyn lived in the house until one week before her passing on July 13, 2024. 

Larry and Tracy brought Keith, Daniel and Andrew into the Douglas clan. Mike and Karen introduced Kelly and Jesse to the family. After Andrew was born in 1986, they thought five grandchildren were all there would be, but were happy and surprised when Alexander and Evelyn were born to Kim and Jeff in 2000. 

Over the years, great-grandchildren expanded the family further, with Tyler and Gage (Keith and Andrea), Sophia, Ella, and Levi (Dan and Kate), and Adalyn and Jaxon (Drew and Jasmine). 

In 1986 a friend from Otis kept encouraging Marilyn and Stan to take square dancing lessons. One afternoon, the friend called and said “We are coming by to take you square dancing!” They were always full of excuses—“We are too old, we don’t have time,” etc.— but this time, that didn’t work and thus began many years of shared activity and enjoyment in the world of square dancing. 

They met a lot of good people and made many friends. Square dancing took them to California, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Missouri and Utah. They started going to the Huntsman World Senior Games at St. George, Utah in 2006, where they won gold, silver and bronze medals. In 2008 square dancing took them on a two week trip to Germany and Austria, where they danced with some of the German clubs. 

Marilyn’s faith was a central focus of her life. She was affirmed in the Lutheran church as a young girl, and remained a member of the church until her passing. She enjoyed participating in services, and prayer and study groups, both online and in person. Over the years, she met many close friends through her hours of volunteer work and other church activities. 

One long-running pastime was investigating the Dalton and Douglas family trees. For many years she volunteered at the Denver Public Library’s genealogy department, which helped her learn more about best practices for researching the family histories. 

Marilyn always found her greatest happiness and support in her family, and her wide circle of friends. Nearly every day would find her at one of her favorite restaurants, meeting with one of her several “lunch groups” to enjoy companionship and a meal. The monthly grandkids dinner was always a highlight and favorite time for her. 

She was preceded in death by her parents Ray and Frances, her two sisters, Margie (infant), and Jane Mach; husband Stan, daughter Susie and sons Mike and Larry. She is survived by her daughter Kim (Jeff); daughter-in-law Karen; brother-in-law Steve (LaVon); grandchildren Keith (Andrea), Kelly, Daniel (Kate), Jesse, Andrew (Jasmine), Alexander and Evelyn; and great grandchildren Tyler, Gage, Sophia, Ella, Levi, Adalyn and Jaxon. 

Celebration of Life will be at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 9th and Kipling in Lakewood, on Saturday August 31, 2024, at 10:00 am. Interment of ashes at the church will be followed by a light luncheon. Wear something purple if you can—even if it’s a flower or ribbon. It was her favorite color. 

The service will be live streamed on the church's website, holyshepherd.com

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Marilyn’s name to: Collier Hospice 3210 Lutheran Parkway Wheat Ridge CO 80033 OR Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church 920 Kipling Lakewood CO 80215