Marilyn graduated high school in Ida, Michigan with the class of 1954. Marilyn and Richard met on a blind date through friends, married August 10th, 1957, and had eight children (Peggy, Jill, Richard, Jennifer, Cathy, Judy, Mary, Susan). Marilyn was known for her witty humor and loved a good joke. She enjoyed collecting rocks and had an encyclopedic mind for identifying plants that she passed on to her children. Marilyn always had a garden (and many plants in her home!) as her favorite season was summer and she delighted sitting in the sunshine. Her curiosity and sense of adventure would often have her taking her children down country back roads to see where they went, or to the lake to watch the storms roll in. She was resilient, often defying the odds placed up against her, and was a prayer warrior!

Marilyn is preceded in death by her parents: James and Berneta. Her husband: Richard Felix Rybka. Her grandson: 1936 ~ 2025

Johnathan Ruoff. Her granddaughter: Melissa Hill.

She is survived by her siblings: Mary (Brownell) Kohlman, James Brownell, and Donald Brownell. Children: Peggy (Fred) Ruoff, Jill (Richard) Scheitler, Richard (Corina) Rybka, Jennifer (David) Orwig, Cathy (Steve) Wurm, Judy (Mike) Bergmann, Mary Hale, Susan (Cris) Gross. Grandchildren: Michael, Amanda, Nicholas, Joseph, Drue, Kathryn, Matthew, Jesse, Aaron, Benny, Andrew, Alyssa, Jacob, Isaac, Fletcher, Isabella, Colton, Olivia. Great-Grandchildren: Annika, Catori, Felix, Oren, Travis, Dylan, Ellis, Anja.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Living Waters Fellowship Church of Baldwin on Sunday March 2nd, 2025 at 2PM. The family will have a Celebration of Life at a date and location yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Living Waters Fellowship Church of Baldwin where Marilyn and Richard had the honor of pastoring for 30 years or to Munson Hospice House in Traverse City, Michigan. Feel free to share your stories of Marilyn with us as we’d love to hear and remember her as she was! She’d want us to look for the fun and humor in all situations, turn to God in blessings and trials, and enjoy family and friends while they are here, until the next time we see each other again.