Marilyn Rehnberg

maRILYN JOAN rehnberg BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. - Marilyn Joan Tator was born July 6, 1934, in Albany, N.Y., to parents Bertha Mae Pedlow Tator and Maurice Tator. She earned a BA from Rockford College with a double major in sociology and dance, followed by an MS in library science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1958, she married Axel Upton Rehnberg of Rockford, Ill., with whom she bore three children. Marilyn, Upton and eventually their children, were very active in the Rockford Civic Theatre during the 1960s and 1970s. Their middle child, Axel Thor Rehnberg, died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 9, the greatest sorrow of her life. Although that marriage lasted only 21 years, Marilyn and Upton remained friends and celebrated Christmases together with their daughters during the last few years of her life. Marilyn was a member of the American Library Association for more than 50 years, serving in various professional capacities for the Rockford Public Library, and later for the St. Paul (Minn.) Public Library. She was also a book lover and lifelong learner, a world traveler and an activist and advocate for peace, tolerance, social justice and environmental protection. Marilyn left this life unexpectedly after a Mother's Day brunch with her daughters followed by a brief few hours' illness. She is survived and will be sorely missed by sister, Virginia Tator Matthews of Albany, N.Y., and daughters, Asha Rehnberg of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and Pia Rehnberg of Poulsbo, Wash. Memorial service to celebrate Marilyn's life at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 18, in the Chapel at Becketwood, 4300 W. River Road, Minneapolis. Memorial gifts in honor of Marilyn may be made to any of the many, many charities she cared about and supported throughout the years, including Soaring Eagle (a public charity for the Northern Cheyenne), Southwest Indian Federation, International Campaign for Tibet, Feeding America, World Wildlife Fund, and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust.