Marilyn Jean Chrisman Fais

Marilyn Jean Chrisman Fais, 97, passed gracefully at home in Cameron Mills, NY, on June 28, 2025, surrounded by the love and care of her three daughters and son-in-law.
Marilyn was born on January 19, 1928, to Mary Lou Stearns Chrisman and Earl Edward Chrisman, Sr., in Kalamazoo, MI, but grew up on the shores of Lake Erie in Mentor, Ohio, swimming with her dog, collecting shells on the beach, and playing with her older brother and two sisters.
She was a 1945 graduate of Mentor High School, graduated from Miami University of Ohio, Phi Beta Kappa in 1949, and was awarded an M.A. in American Literature from Columbia University, NY, in 1951. By the social conventions of the time, she stood from her seat to receive her diploma, since she was expecting her first daughter, having met Frederick William Fais of Spencer IA at Columbia and married him on September 2, 1950. Two more daughters followed as the little family eventually moved back to her childhood home in the Headlands, Mentor OH. There Marilyn taught elementary school for 25 years, before retiring and moving with her husband to New Woodstock, NY, to be closer to their daughters. She was a devoted volunteer at the New Woodstock Free Library, receiving their first Volunteer of the Year Award because of her commitment to its mission and growth. After a brief illness in 2018, Marilyn moved to Beulahland, Cameron Mills, NY, to live with her oldest daughter Jennifer and her husband Noel.
Marilyn was creative in countless ways: brushing intricate calligraphy, embroidering linens, weaving rag rugs, tumbling stones for jewelry, tending her gardens and preserving home-grown produce. And she made the best pie crust in the world. Marilyn was also a "word person." From being the editor of all her school newspapers from elementary school through graduate school, to having her own poetry published in a variety of journals, to celebrating all her family's milestones with clever and thoughtful, personal poems, she instilled the love of words and poetry in her daughters and her students. She was a highly respected and well-loved elementary school teacher, who brought the world into her classroom; family vacations to tour Gettysburg and to canoe the Missouri River along the path of Lewis and Clark became history lessons. Marilyn shared her love of the woods and wildflowers by creating, with the help of her students, a nature trail through the forest right outside her classroom windows, later designated as the Headland School Forest. She was also an early environmental activist, advocating for the protection of Mentor Marsh, and hosting yearly Christmas Bird Counts for the Blackbrook Audubon Society in Mentor, OH. Marilyn grew up listening to weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, and her love of a wide range of music, especially John Denver, Dolly Parton, the Beatles, and Puccini, infused her life. She encouraged her daughters' musical and creative careers, and delighted in listening to music, a joy that deeply comforted her in her declining years.
Marilyn is predeceased by her husband of 63 years, F. William Fais, her siblings, Earl Edward (Chris) Chrisman, Jr., Marguerite (Peggy) Parker, and Carol Catherine McFarland. She is survived by her children, Jennifer Green Fais (Noel Alan Sylvester), Laurel Catherine Fais (Eric Vatikiotis-Bateson, deceased), and Mary Heather Fais (Charles B. Shatzkin); by five granddaughters, Caitlin VB Harrell (Michael), Amelia Fais Harnas Cueva (Paul), Adriana Fais Kramer (Holger), Malia Vatikiotis-Bateson (Matthew Gauthier), and Indiana VB Columbus (Craig); four great-grandchildren, Akina Gauthier, Axton Harrell, Niko Gauthier, and Daisy Wren Columbus; several nieces and nephews, and her previously feral cat, Nonee.
Marilyn was a deeply loving and thoughtful Christian, and a lifelong member of the Congregational Church. A memorial service will be held on August 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 171 W. Pulteney Street, Corning, NY, with a reception to follow at the Church. (Email office@corningUCC.org for the Zoom link.) Phillips Funeral Home, Corning, NY, is handling the arrangements (remembrances can be posted online at PhillipsFuneralHome.com). Inurnment will take place at a later date in Riverside Cemetery, Spencer, IA. In lieu of flowers, donations in Marilyn's memory may be made to the First Congregational UCC, Corning (https://www.corningucc.org/
), Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/), the New Woodstock Free Library () or a charitable organization of your choice.