Mana Marilyn McLamore, 85, passed away on February 25, 2014. Despite local forest fires and floods, she was able to stay in the house she loved in Glendora, California, with the support of family members, Visiting Angels, and Vitas Hospice. Until her final months, she had enjoyed an active life, even going horseback-riding on the Central Coast dunes in 2012.
Marilyn traveled much more widely than most Iowa farmgirls would expect. She was born on November 9, 1928, to Howard and Edna (Recknor) Sammons, in the booming metropolis of Cromwell, Iowa (population 173). The family moved to a farm near Lyford, Texas, in 1936, traveling in one of the first house trailers ever built. After graduating from North Texas State Teachers College in 1949, Marilyn taught art in a junior high school in Corpus Christi, Texas, and met her husband-to-be, Vernon Reid McLamore, in that same city. They were married in Fort Worth on July 25, 1959, and celebrated their golden anniversary in the summer of 2009. Marilyn traveled the nation with Reid when his geotechnical employers moved him from state to state; they resided in Nevada, Arizona, Mississippi, Virginia, Montana, and settled at last in California, moving to Glendora in 1972.
After seeing her three children through school, Marilyn devoted her tremendous energy to activities in Glendora, especially the Serrano Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Potpourri Department of the Glendora Womans Club. The latter named her "Club Woman of the Year" in 1996. Marilyn especially enjoyed completing the bulk of her Christmas shopping during the annual rummage sales. Marilyn's artistic contributions, inventive costumes, and quick humor will all be missed.
Marilyn is survived by her daughter Alyson and her husband Terry Spiller; her son Tom and his wife Diane; her son Malcolm; her grandson Jack; her sister Laura Fayrene Farley; her brother-in-law Dick McLamore and his wife Betty; several nephews and nieces; her granddogs Bella and Aida; and grandcat Buddy Magoo. She was preceded in death by her husband Reid in 2010.
Marilyn's funeral service will be held at Glenkirk Presbyterian Church in Glendora, California, on Friday, March 7, at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Marilyn's memory to Vitas Hospice (www.vitas.com), the Inland Valley Humane Society and SPCA (http://www.ivhsspca.org), Restore the National Mall (www.nationalmall.org), or a charity of your choice.
