Marilyn Wilson, 87, of Rossmoor, California, passed on June 17, 2021, surrounded by her family at her daughter's home in Danville.

Marilyn was born on October 19, 1933, in Alton, Illinois. Her parents were Raymond D. and Ruth Norton Andrews, and she had an older sister, Sylvia Wallin, who passed in 2000.

Marilyn met her future husband, William G. "Bill" Wilson, as a sophomore in high school and they were married the day they both graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaigne-Urbana in 1955. The following day they drove to California to start their new lives in "paradise".

Marilyn and Bill initially settled in Berkeley, California, where Marilyn worked in a microbiology lab at UC Berkeley and Bill worked as an engineer with Shell Oil. They eventually bought a home in nearby Walnut Creek where they raised their family. Marilyn was a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, until she went back to school and became a registered dietician for Kaiser Permanente for 18 years, after which she retired.

Marilyn and Bill acquired rural property in Grass Valley, California, where they enjoyed spending weekends away. They eventually built a beautiful custom home and moved there permanently. After Bill passed in a plane crash in 2001, Marilyn stayed on in Grass Valley for a number of years and eventually moved to the retirement community of Rossmoor, California.

Marilyn was affectionately known as "Emmy" to her surviving children (Nancy Page, Karen Simpson, and Scott Wilson), their spouses (Greg Page, Dave Simpson, and Dynse Crunkleton-Wilson), and her seven grandchildren (Drew Englander, KC Englander, Katie Gilday, Allie Farrell, Sister Caeles Grace Maria, MIchaela Crunkleton-Wilson, and Joe Crunkleton-Wilson). In the year of her passing she was excited about two new great-grandchildren joining the family (Abby Farrell and Nora Gilday).

Marilyn kept a close and loving relationship with the children of her sister Sylvia (Debbie Darling, Lynn Beeh, and Larry Wallin), as well as their children and grandchildren. She enjoyed her visits to the midwest to attend weddings and celebrations as the last surviving matriarch of her generation.

Marilyn led a very active life and had a talent for getting involved and helping to organize the many hobby, social responsibility, and religious groups she joined. When her kids were young it was the Woodlands Swim Team, and later it was the Golden Empire Flying Association in Grass Valley (where Bill was a pilot). In her Rossmoor years she was active in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), Sustainable Rossmoor, the Interfaith Council, Democrats of Rossmoor, and the Family Radio Service. She was a devoted member of the United Methodist Church and of the Ananda community.

Marilyn had a rich social life as well with many close friends and acquaintances. In 1955, she and Bill became friends with a number of young couples in Berkeley who began to call themselves "The Fertile Turtles," all of whom remained close throughout the years. Later, Marilyn started a Women's Group that met together monthly since the 1970's for mutual support and friendship.

A celebration of Marilyn's life is scheduled for the weekend of October 9/10, in or near Rossmoor, California--details to be confirmed here when finalized.

DONATIONS IN LIEU OF -- Marilyn's devotion to science, along with her experiences living with essential tremor, led her to donate her brain to the Essential Tremor Institute after her passing. We know that Marilyn would enjoy knowing that her friends and family donated to the important work of that organization, and so we have arranged that donations can be made in her name at this address:

The Essential Tremor Centralized Brain Repository

5323 Harry Hines Rd, Mail code 8813

Dallas, TX. 75390-8813