Marilyn Church - Epworth UMC

There are a few people whom I think of and then remember as "saints" every year on the day they died, not because they were faultless but because they knew they weren't and moved through life with great wit and compassion. My calendar of "saints" is enriched with one more entry, but we are still the poorer here for going without her excellent warmth and sweetness of spirit.

The official Epworth announcement: MARILYN CHURCH 1929-2014

We are saddened to announce that longtime member and friend of Epworth, Marilyn Church passed away Tuesday morning, February 11th, 2014, at her home in Berkeley. She was 84 years old.

Marilyn was a longtime Stephen Minister and she and her husband Donn had been members of the Prime Timers social club.

Marilyn was an educator who loved to work with children. The photograph above was taken during Epworth's 2009 mission to Nicaragua where she taught English at Ruben Dario High School.

A memorial service for Marilyn will be held in the Epworth UMC Sanctuary at 11:00 a.m. March 1st., 2014

The official obituary: http://www.tracypress.com/view/full_story/24619585/article-Marilyn-Jean-McGinnis-Church?instance=secondary_stories_left_column

Marilyn Jean McGinnis Church

Feb 20, 2014 |

Services will be March 1 for Marilyn Jean McGinnis Church, 84, who taught in Tracy schools from 1950 to the late 1980s. She died Feb. 11 in Berkeley, her home of 25 years, after a brief illness.

Mrs. Church was born March 15, 1929, in Coin, Iowa. She graduated from University of the Pacific in 1950, beginning her career in education as a second-grade teacher at Central School. Through the years, she taught at many Tracy schools. In 1985, she became a resource teacher at North School, and she later held the same position at West Park School.

After retiring in 1988, she served as president of her local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of female educators, and she volunteered to help readers in Richmond schools and at a granddaughter’s charter school. She attended Epworth Methodist Church in Berkeley and participated in Stagebridge senior arts programs.

Survivors include her husband, Weldon Church of Berkeley; a son, Mark Church of Tracy; two daughters, Deborah Bonet of Richmond and Sarah Liebman of Oakland; a sister, Janis Lopez of Esparto; and 13 grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were a son, Joseph Church, in 1970; a sister, Ann Chamberlin; and a brother, James McGinnis.

Services on March 1 will begin at 11 a.m. at Epworth Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St., in Berkeley. Burial will be March 6 in Tracy Cemetery, 501 E. Schulte Road.

Contributions in Mrs. Church’s name may be sent to The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Scholarship Fund, PO. Box 1589, Austin, TX 78767-1589; or to Stagebridge Foundation, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland, CA 94612.