Marilyn Berger Jordan

Marilyn Berger Jordan passed away at home on October 20, 2025, surrounded by all four of her surviving children. She was 92 years old. Marilyn was born on July 13, 1937, to Harry Stone and Lucille Berger. She joined brother Jim, who was not impressed by the new family addition.

Marilyn had an idyllic, small town childhood playing any and all sports, and hiking with her dogs through the Black Hills. She also took part in numerous activities, such as Girl Scouts with her lifelong best friend Carol Gorder.

Marilyn attended school at the Deadwood School for all 12 years with perfect attendance. Her father was the Superintendent and her mother was the art and handwriting teacher. After high school, Marilyn attended Stephens College in Missouri then went on to Northwestern University, where she played on the college basketball team. (Girls weren't allowed to letter back then, so she didn't receive her letter for basketball until almost 50 years later at the age of 70!) Marilyn received a degree in Audiology and Speech Therapy.

After graduating, she moved west to teach hearing impaired children in the Seattle School District. While teaching, she became great friends with teacher, Beverly Strain, who she remained close to all these years.

Marilyn married in 1957, and the couple welcomed their cherished son, Bruce, followed by four more children over the next eight years. Marilyn was the "fun mom". She shuttled her kids and half the neighborhood around to a variety of activities and adventures. She ran Cub Scout dens and Girl Scout troops. Marilyn also loved her many animals. One of the neighbors once said that when he died, he wanted to come back as one of her dogs! No animals were ever treated with such love.

A major part of Marilyn's life was teaching. After working in the Seattle School District, she taught for almost 35 years in the Adventist schools, including Mountlake Terrace and Cypress. A fond memory of all of her students were her many stories. She retired in 1997 only to soon return as a substitute and a volunteer. She continued in this role until the age of 89.

Marilyn's students received not only an outstanding academic education, but also were constantly exposed to kindness, compassion, and caring for others, including animals, some of whom slept in the back of the classroom. Two of her longtime teaching partners Dea Bienhoff and Lucille Nelson joined her in many activities to give their students the building blocks for becoming outstanding adults.

Marilyn lived her life modeling the character traits she valued so highly. Marilyn went far out of her way to model kindness every single day. She actively looked for ways to make a difference in the lives of others. If you were lucky enough to be her friend or student, you had someone in your corner for life.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her son Bruce, her brother Jim (Jim Drury), and both of her parents. She was survived by daughters Ann Jordan, Joan (Tom) Eilertson, sons Mark (Mary) Jordan and David Jordan. Marilyn is also survived by her seven well-loved grandchildren Katie (Josh) Pettit, Christina (Chris) Barrows, Emily (Kiel) Bates, Joseph Jordan, Julia (Ron) Vertsman, Jake Eilertson, and Flori Casia. Marilyn had three great-grandchildren, Lucy Pettit, Owen Barrows and Elliot Barrows, all of whom delighted Great-Grandma by being avid animal lovers and voracious readers. One more great- grandchild, Baby Girl Vertsman, is due in just a few days.

A Celebration of Marilyn's Life will be held at the Edmonds Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 8625 196th St SW, Edmonds, on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 3:00 pm. A burial will take place at a later date in Marilyn's hometown of Deadwood, SD.In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Old Dog Haven (olddoghaven.org), Forest Park Christian School (fpacs@outlook.com) or the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. (mda.org)