Marilyn Joan Sundin

Marilyn Joan SUNDIN Marilyn Joan Sundin, 72, passed away February 1, 2009 at the Carmel Mountain Rehabilitation Center in San Diego, California. She was born November 19, 1936 in Grand forks, North Dakota, the daughter of Marvel and Marian Haugen. Marilyn graduated from Roosevelt High School, Seattle in 1955, and received a BA from the University of Washington in 1959. Marilyn's love of adventure and zest for life led her to San Jose, California (where she taught for one year out of college), back to Seattle (where her son Ben was born), to Newfoundland, Canada (where she lived on Stephens Air Force Base and had her daughter AnnaLisa); Point Reyes, California (where she raised her young children, handcrafted pottery and hung out with members of the band the Youngbloods); Amherst, Massachusetts (where she co-taught a class of 90 students ranging in age from 6 to 9 in an alternative school), and finally back to southern California. There she met her husband, Lennart Sundin, who she married at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, attended by her sister. In California, she attained both a Master's Degree from UCSF in human resources and a Master's Degree in special education. She retired as a teacher for the San Diego Unified School District. Marilyn was a joyful soul with endless energy for her family and numerous friends. She enjoyed travel, and she and Lennart visited many places all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. She loved visiting her brothers in Seattle and her sisters in Arizona, and the simple pleasures of gardening and taking long walks with her dog Max. Nothing made her happier than playing with her beloved grandchildren- teaching them to stand on their heads, skip rope double dutch, and sing the silly songs she remembered from childhood Girl Scout camp-outs. Survivors include her husband Lennart Sundin; two children and their spouses, Ben Houk and his wife Lauri-Michelle and AnnaLisa Gellermann and her husband Jeff Barrett; nine grandchildren, Marissa, Skylar, Samantha, Madeline, Katherine, Hadrian, Elizabeth, Michael and Alexandra; and her brothers and sisters Gerry and Nancy Haugen, Anna-Louise and Bart Baker, David and Nancy Haugen, Brian and Marianne Haugen, and Valerie and Kevin Kiely, Suzy Haugen. Plus relatives and friends in Sweden. Her mother and father, and her brother Richard Haugen preceded her in death. Marilyn will rest with her mother, father and brother in Seattle, Washington. Friends and family are invited to a funeral service, which will be held at 1:00 p.m. on March 1 at Acacia Memorial Park, 14951 Bothell Way NE in Seattle, Washington. Memorial contributions can be made to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito, P.O. Box 201, Solana Beach, CA 92075.