- Date Of Birth: January 3, 1934
- Date Of Death: July 1, 2021
- State: Florida
Marylyn Joanne Liacopoulos (born Smith), 87, Cocoa Beach, FL, passed on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at her Courtenay Springs Village Towers apartment in Merritt Island, FL due to complications from Strokes. Marylyn was born in Decatur, IN to Othmar “Bud” and Anne Kathryn (Colchin) Smith and married George Paul Liacopoulos in 1957. She was President of the Decatur Catholic High School Class of 1952 and graduated from Saint Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing (now University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, IN) in 1955, where she was selected by her class as winner of the Ideal Nurse Award.
Marylyn’s career began at Santa Monica Hospital (now UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center) where she cared for the first “flying ambulance” patient. Following “The Call of the Moon” they moved to Cocoa Beach in 1965. Marylyn served as the nurse at Our Saviour’s Catholic School, then as an Occupational Health Nurse for Pan Am at the Kennedy Space Center, where she regularly staged an ambulance at the edge of the launch danger area for Space Shuttle launches. They traveled the world “stand-by” 1969 -1989. In retirement she was a Eucharistic Minister and was luckier than most at bingo, one-armed bandits and won a car in a national drawing. As retirees, they frequently traveled by cruise ship, traversing both the Panama and Suez Canals. Marylyn was known for her 4’ 11” stature, infectious smile, sense of humor, and leading the Second Line umbrella dance at “That Old Gang of Mine” Dixieland band gigs. She remembered everyone’s birthday and anniversary with a gift and a kind note. Marylyn is preceded in death by her husband George (2018), parents Anne (1961), Othmar (1945), and sister Kathleen (1984). She is survived by her daughter Jan (Luke) Miorelli, grandsons Sam and Mitchell (Dannamarie), and great-grandchildren Leo and Mika whose births brought her great joy.
