Marilyn Savas

It is with mixed feelings that we share that Marilyn Savas passed away peacefully on October 1, 2025, after her journey with dementia. She was given the gift of being able to pass away in her home located in West Jordan, Utah.

Marilyn was born on January 13, 1937, in Delta Utah to Oliver Alfred Farey Sr and Catherine Richards Farey. She had two older sisters, Auline and Jean. She had one younger brother Oliver Jr. "Ollie". She moved many times all over Utah including Delta, Milford, Salt Lake, Rose Park, Murray, and West Jordan.

Marilyn has been described as being an active person, homemaker, mother, race car driver, lover of outdoors, camping, boating, co-owner of a successful newspaper business, hard worker, and sweet and spicy (depending on who you were and what day it was depended on which side of THAT coin you got). She was also strong willed, confident, fearless, sure of her opinions, and had a strong sense of personal values.

Marilyn has been quite spicy since she was young. Ollie, her younger brother, liked to tease Marilyn incessantly. One day Ollie was teasing Marilyn and she hauled off and "punched him out". He saw stars for quite a while and that was one of the last times Ollie ever teased Marilyn.

Marilyn was a proud attendee at Horace Mann Junior High and then graduated from West High School. Life took Marilyn and her family out of Utah to Las Vegas and eventually went on to living in Southern California.

It was while living in Southern California that Marilyn found her passion for sewing. Marilyn would make clothing, Halloween costumes, and the famous Christmas pajamas.

Marilyn loved to go watch the swallow migration at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano.

Marilyn and her 2 girls, Tamara "Tami" and Jodie, moved to Cypress California where Marilyn met and fell in love with her husband of many years, William (Bill) Savas. Life with Bill and the girls in Cypress was busy and adventurous. Marilyn and Bill ran a successful newspaper business out of their home, working long hours, seven days per week.

Christmas must have been her favorite holiday. Jodie remembers going with Bill, Marilyn, and Tami down to pick out their live tree from the train. They would run around to find a tree that might be the one. They would shake the tree trying to get the branches to settle and spread. Marilyn would find the best one after inspecting them for no gaps in the branches. After finding the perfect tree they would go to Kmart to get a flocking bag mix which she would apply with her Filter Queen vacuum cleaner. As kids it was hard for the girls to wait days for the tree to dry before they could help decorate it. She also loved giving out her traditional, hand-made Christmas pajamas and they couldn't have those without the matching bonnets, of course.

Marilyn was a very proud female dirt track stock car driver. Marilyn and the girls supported Bill while he raced on the dirt track and eventually Marilyn wanted to try her hand at racing as well. It was customary to put the slowest racers at the front of the pack, but Marilyn's qualifying time on her first race was SO slow that they put her in the very back for her own safety. It didn't take her long before she got the hang of it and ended up actually winning a first place trophy, in Bill's car, even before Bill even won one. This adventurous side rubbed off on her daughter Tami and Tami actually won first place in her very first race. Booyah Mom!!

Bill and Marilyn would gather everyone and would put together quite the Fourth of July firework show!

Marilyn always did have a love for animals, picking up any stray, day or night. She always had multiple animals at any given time. When Marilyn adopted an animal she was completely dedicated to them. Each one was treated with love and respect and always given the care they needed. The only animal that was purchased and not adopted was Jennifer, a Boston Terrier that Marilyn wanted.

One funny moment, that was definitely not as funny to Marilyn as it was to Tami, included Armor-All and vinyl bench seats. Tami was trying to be helpful and find things to do to keep herself busy so she decided to detail Marilyn's car. In doing so Tami polished the vinyl bench seats with Armor-All. Marilyn was definitely not laughing as hard as Tami was when they jumped into the car to run errands and Marilyn ended up sliding all across the front bench seat. Tami was left chuckling while Marilyn told her "don't ever do that again".

While in Cypress, Marilyn would start epic water fights. These would start out gentle enough but eventually Marilyn would end up dragging the outdoor hose into the house and chasing down anyone that was there. Everyone involved would end up drenched. Clean up would take a while despite the cement floors in their kitchen and outdoor furniture being used as their indoor furniture because of all the animals.

Marilyn longed to be back in Utah to be closer to her family so Bill and Marilyn purchased a home in West Jordan. Marilyn and Kas lived in that home while they waited for Bill to retire, sell the Cypress house, and join them in Utah. It was in this West Jordan home that the water fights had to be adjusted. Marilyn would remind Kas that no matter what the outdoor hose was to be left outside!

Marilyn continued to be a hard worker even after retirement. She kept her one acre yard looking immaculate, planting flowers, and pulling weeds consistently. She also enjoyed long drives up the canyons and really enjoyed her time with her sister Jean on their cross country road trips.

As the years went on, Marilyn enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, often spoiling them with pizza or tacos after a long, hard day of yard work. She supported her grandkids with everything that they did, every play, choir concert, band concert, dance performance, birthday celebration, and even attended her grandson and granddaughter's weddings.

Marilyn's life was not an especially easy one. She faced many challenges but weathered them with strength and determination to live a successful and enjoyable life. Ollie has always admired her willingness to give of herself monetarily and physically.

The start of the most recent challenge that Marilyn faced was in 2021. Marilyn was diagnosed with dementia. Kas and his family provided the much needed support as Marilyn's needs continued to change. They made sure that she maintained her dignity, always adjusting for the latest ability that would come and go. They also ensured that Marilyn was able to go and experience more the last few years of her life than she would have been able to without their constant love and support. It has been their honor to provide 24 hour care for Marilyn for the last three years of her life.

As her family, we take comfort in knowing she is now at peace and free from the challenges dementia brought. We will forever carry her love, her stories, and her spirit with us.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her father Oliver Sr, mother Catherine, sister Auline (Jay) Peterson, and Jean (George) Woodruff. She is being survived by her brother Ollie (Lyndell) Farey, daughter Tami Massie, daughter Jodie (Ray) Smith, son Kevin "Kas" (Aubrey) Savas, grandchildren, great grandchildren, many loved nieces and nephews, and 3 dear neighbors who have been by her side for over 20+ years.

As her family, we would like to thank the hospice nurses and CNAs at Serenity Hospice. They did an incredible job at helping make sure that Marilyn was comfortable all the way up until her last breath.

We will be holding two separate viewing times to honor and support Marilyn's family during this difficult time:

For those who wish to support Kevin: Monday, October 13th, from 6:00–8:00 pm at the LDS Stake Center located at 7265 S. 2700 W. West Jordan, UT 84084.

For those who wish to support Jodie: Tuesday, October 14th, from 6:00–8:00 pm at Redwood Memorial located at 6500 S Redwood Rd, West Jordan, UT.

There will be a graveside service held on Wednesday October 15th at 2 pm at Redwood Memorial located at 6500 S Redwood Rd, West Jordan, UT.

For those who wish to honor Marilyn’s memory, floral tributes may be sent to Memorial Murray Mortuary, 5850 South 900 East Murray, Utah 84121 on Monday October 13, 2025 by 3:00 pm or Redwood Memorial Mortuary, 6500 South Redwood road West Jordan Utah 84123 on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 by 2:00 pm.

Alternatively, donations to the Alzheimer’s Association would be appreciated in remembrance of her journey with dementia and the ongoing research to find a cure for this awful disease.