Marilyn Spooner, 96

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —  Marilyn Johan (Meyer) Spooner, 96, a longtime resident of Orange, most recently of Pittsfield, died Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at Berkshire Place after a short period of declining health.

She was born in Fresno, Calif., on June 13, 1924, a daughter of Carl F. and Grace W. Miller Meyer. She attended schools in Worcester and graduated from Classical High School. Marilyn also graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

After her college graduation, Marilyn worked at the Boston Children's Museum. Upon her marriage in 1947, she and Ralph moved to Fort Wayne, Ind., where she worked in the Fort Wayne Public Library and the Department of Public Works. Returning to Ralph's hometown of Orange, she taught Orange community kindergarten and was a Realtor for Burbank Realty in Athol.

Marilyn was an active member of the community, working as a volunteer tax consultant for AARP and was the governor's appointee to the Orange Housing Authority. She was a member of the Orange Elementary School Committee and served as a trustee of Wheeler Memorial Library and of the Orange Scholarship Foundation. Marilyn was a member of First Universalist Church in Orange and of its Unity Club. She served on the Orange Historical Society and was a member of the athenaeum organization.

Marilyn had many varied interests from quilting to local history. She loved the interplay of words whether on the Scrabble board, in creative writing projects or as the family "poet" who penned rhyming poems for every gift and family occasion. She embraced all forms of technology, researching the latest political or financial trends and charting the family genealogy. Marilyn loved her family and her friends and spent many happy summers with them at her lake community.

Predeceased by her husband, Ralph E. Spooner, in 1990, she is survived by her daughter, Jane Spooner and her husband, Richard Bargeron, of Shelburne Falls; her daughter, Carol Spooner of Randolph, N.J.; her son, James G. Spooner and his wife, Jacqueline, of Athol and her daughter, Lauren Wick and her husband, Peter, of Lanesborough. She also leaves six grandchildren: Colin, Adam, Brianna, Michael, Lindsey, and Daniel; two great-grandchildren, Ethan and Vivien; one sister, Ruth Butler of Austin, Texas, and one nephew, Mark.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Services for Marilyn Spooner will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the First Universalist Church (memo: Marilyn Spooner remembrance) 31 N. Main St. Orange, MA 01364. To add to the Book of Memories, visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.