- Date Of Birth: July 13, 1928
- Date Of Death: August 7, 2022
- State: Arizona
Marilyn McNeely, 94, passed away peacefully and in the midst of love on August 7, 2022. The family would particularly like to thank Summit Hospice and its employees for the kindness and care they showed to Marilyn at the end of her life.
Marilyn was born to Alice and Sydney Abbott, Sr., in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 13, 1928. She attended the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, where she met Harold (“Mac”) McNeely. Marilyn graduated in 1950, and she and Mac went on to marry that same year, after which Marilyn worked to help put Mac through graduate school in Psychology. Marilyn and Mac were married for seventy years, until Mac’s death in 2020.
After graduate school, Marilyn and Mac moved to Phoenix, where the two of them remained for the rest of their lives. She had three children, Evan, Julie, and Gail. Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Sydney, Jr., her son-in-law, Kent Kirwan, her son, Evan, and her husband, Mac. Survivors include her daughter Julie McNeely-Kirwan, her daughter and son-in-law, Gail McNeely and Chris Romano, and her grandson, Thomas Kirwan.
Marilyn taught exercise classes for over 30 years, including Senior Stretch, for many years in Scottsdale. She was an early supporter of exercise for seniors (and everyone else). Marilyn continued teaching even after breaking a hip in her eighties, because that wasn’t going to stop her.
She had superb taste and a good eye for a bargain, and developed a lovely art and antique collection over the years. Antiquing with her was a joy. Marilyn was a force for civilization and order, and kept a lovely home. She told jokes really well, loved to laugh, and was the pet parent most cats and dogs dream of having. Marilyn loved chocolate and never gave it up. Her last snack in life was a Rollo.
She was respected and beloved. We will miss her. It was an honor to know her and be part of her life.
