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Obituary for Marilyn Willoughby
WILLOUGHBY, Marilyn Jean (Hurst),
90, of Louisville, entered into eternal rest surrounded by long-time friends and family on June 12, 2016, at The Forum at Brookside.
She was predeceased by husband Paul, a decorated combat veteran of World War II, and brother, Robert Norman, a distinguished electrical engineer. She was a 1941 graduate of Atherton High School and later earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville in 1948 and a master's degree in 1954. Marilyn was born on July 9, 1925 to Fannie and Theron Hurst in West Frankfort, Illinois barely three months after the family survived a deadly tornado that destroyed their home and claimed almost 700 lives in a tri-state area. The family moved two years later to Louisville when her father took a bookkeeping job with the Blatz Brewing Company. From childhood, music was an integral part of Marilyn's life, with brother Bob becoming a talented organist and composer and Marilyn an accomplished cellist. Starting in the 1940s she developed a professional music career with the Louisville Orchestra which was highlighted by performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center among many other venues. She retired from the orchestra in 1989. From 1954 to 1970 she was a claims representative with the Social Security administration. Marilyn loved to travel and was an articulate and insightful observer and collector. Starting in the 1930s, her carefully and artfully composed scrapbooks traced life in the Louisville region and beyond with special, detailed attention given to the city's connection to World War II. Her scrapbooks and other significant Louisville memorabilia were donated to the The Filson Historical Society in 2014. In 1998 she published an illustrated family history and autobiography, aptly titled "Out of the Whirlwind." Marilyn's gentle nature, cheerful persona and inquisitive mind kept her fully engaged in her surroundings throughout her life and she will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her sister-in-law Elizabeth Willoughby, loving nieces Judith Hurst Loane (Mt. Holly, NJ), Beth Willoughby Swann (Charlotte, NC), Susan Willoughby (Hilton Head, SC), Sally Jo Merganthaler Blanchat (Charlotte, NC),Sarah Willoughby Cox (Lousiville, KY) and nephews Robert Norman Hurst, Jr. (Hopewell, NJ) and Chris Merganthaler (Bend, OR).
Her funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016 at Highlands Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road, with burial to follow in Resthaven Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until time of service Friday at Highlands.
Donations may be made in honor of Mrs. Willoughby to St. Matthews Baptist Church, 3513 Grandview Avenue, Louisville, KY 40217 or to The Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037.
90, of Louisville, entered into eternal rest surrounded by long-time friends and family on June 12, 2016, at The Forum at Brookside.
She was predeceased by husband Paul, a decorated combat veteran of World War II, and brother, Robert Norman, a distinguished electrical engineer. She was a 1941 graduate of Atherton High School and later earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville in 1948 and a master's degree in 1954. Marilyn was born on July 9, 1925 to Fannie and Theron Hurst in West Frankfort, Illinois barely three months after the family survived a deadly tornado that destroyed their home and claimed almost 700 lives in a tri-state area. The family moved two years later to Louisville when her father took a bookkeeping job with the Blatz Brewing Company. From childhood, music was an integral part of Marilyn's life, with brother Bob becoming a talented organist and composer and Marilyn an accomplished cellist. Starting in the 1940s she developed a professional music career with the Louisville Orchestra which was highlighted by performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center among many other venues. She retired from the orchestra in 1989. From 1954 to 1970 she was a claims representative with the Social Security administration. Marilyn loved to travel and was an articulate and insightful observer and collector. Starting in the 1930s, her carefully and artfully composed scrapbooks traced life in the Louisville region and beyond with special, detailed attention given to the city's connection to World War II. Her scrapbooks and other significant Louisville memorabilia were donated to the The Filson Historical Society in 2014. In 1998 she published an illustrated family history and autobiography, aptly titled "Out of the Whirlwind." Marilyn's gentle nature, cheerful persona and inquisitive mind kept her fully engaged in her surroundings throughout her life and she will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her sister-in-law Elizabeth Willoughby, loving nieces Judith Hurst Loane (Mt. Holly, NJ), Beth Willoughby Swann (Charlotte, NC), Susan Willoughby (Hilton Head, SC), Sally Jo Merganthaler Blanchat (Charlotte, NC),Sarah Willoughby Cox (Lousiville, KY) and nephews Robert Norman Hurst, Jr. (Hopewell, NJ) and Chris Merganthaler (Bend, OR).
Her funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016 at Highlands Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road, with burial to follow in Resthaven Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until time of service Friday at Highlands.
Donations may be made in honor of Mrs. Willoughby to St. Matthews Baptist Church, 3513 Grandview Avenue, Louisville, KY 40217 or to The Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marilyn Willoughby, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.
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