Marilyn L. King

Marilyn Lee King, 80, of Peru and formerly of Mendota, passed away on June 5, 2021, after a year long struggle with cancer.
 
Marilyn was born January 17, 1941, to Clarence and Alvina (Lipka) Rich in LaSalle. She attended Ophir/Triumph schools and was graduated from Mendota High School in 1958, where she was an A student.
 
She was preceded in death by her parents, as well as her brothers Clarence Rich and Wayne Rich, and her brother-in-law Larry Neuhalfen.
 
She was married October 8, 1958, to Richard Arthur King of Mendota. They were together for a grand total of 66 years - as they dated for 3 years in high school. Rick and Marilyn lead an adventurous life together, they have lived in a total of 24 places in their married life. Included are locations in and around Mendota, RI, CA, GA, FL and for many years Jamestown, NC. They also traveled all over the USA – visiting 48 of the 50 states including Hawaii and had traveled to Mexico and Germany.
 
Marilyn worked for many years for Black Bros. in High Point, NC and Mendota. She managed the Sincerely Yours card shop in Greensboro, NC, and helped run King Implement of Mendota. She also was lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church in Mendota, very active in their semi-annual Garage Sale. She also belonged to the BPOE (Elks) in Mendota.
 
She is survived by her husband Rick; their 2 children and 2 grandchildren; son David (Julia) King of Concord, NC (grandchildren Julia Alexandra King and Richard Andrew King); and daughter LeeAnn King (Wallace) Bailey of DeLand FL. She is also survived by her sister Carol Ann (Rich) Neuhalfen and sister-in-law Barbara Rich, many nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews.
 
She loved animals very much, as she grew up on a farm. A listing of even her favorite dogs, cats, horses, and cattle would fill a page. They bred Chow Chows and Westies and had innumerable other pets. She also loved flowers and gardening and was a winner more often than not at the slots. 
 
Marilyn will be very much missed by her family and friends. If you can attend the visitation or church service, she would have loved for everyone to wear something purple.
 
Visitation will be from 4:00 PM to 7:00 p.m. Friday June 18, 2021 at the Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota.
 
Church Services will be Saturday June 19, 2021, 10:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Mendota with Rev. Mary Bohall officiating.
 
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the First United Methodist Church Mendota or Friends of Strays Animal Shelter, Princeton.