Marilyn Coleman

Marilyn Kathleen Coleman November 4, 1947 – April 16, 2026

Marilyn Kathleen Coleman, 77, of Lawrence, Kansas, passed away on April 16, 2026. She was many things to many people: a faithful friend, a tireless volunteer, a devoted wife. But ask anyone in her family, and they'll tell you she was, above all else, a force. Born November 4, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Gordon and Faith Markey, Marilyn came into the world with energy to spare and opinions to match. She graduated from Sterling College, where she studied psychology, made friendships that lasted a lifetime, and met the man with whom she would spend that lifetime.

On August 9, 1969, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in a double wedding with her sister, Gwen, Marilyn married the love of her life, Gary Wayne Coleman. Early in their marriage, she brought her gifts and passion to teaching Head Start students. Not too long after, while Gary was still in medical residency, she began her life's vocation in earnest by pouring herself fully into raising her children. For 49 years, she and Gary built a life and a family together that was full, lively, and deeply rooted in faith and service.

Marilyn was a woman who showed up, and when she showed up, you knew it. Her vivacious energy was tough to match. She volunteered in her children's schools, served her community through PEO and the Junior League, and was a faithful and active member of First United Methodist Church in Abilene, Kansas. She and Gary were avid travelers, with adventures that took them to China, Australia, New Zealand, and across Europe.

As much as she loved seeing the world, Marilyn saved her best energy for the people who mattered most: her children and grandchildren. Loving them, from the sidelines of games, with early morning cinnamon rolls, and long sunny days on the beaches of North Carolina's shore, was her greatest joy.

She was, at her core, a woman of faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, a faith she learned as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and taught her children. Not in a quiet or reserved way, but in the way of someone who practiced her faith with conviction and warmth. She knew what she believed. She said what she thought. And she leaves behind a family, a community, and eleven grandchildren who are more honest, more loved, and more alive for having known her.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, Gary. She is

survived by her sister, Gwen Johnson, and by her children, Matthew Coleman (Stacy), Kathleen Pierson (Will), and Benjamin Miller-Coleman (Valerie); and her grandchildren, Samuel, Nathaniel, Joseph, Anna, Evelyn, Emma, Natalie, Andrew, Lucinda, Leo, and Lawrence.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Abilene First United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends on Friday evening, April 24, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. at Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home. Marilyn will be laid to rest alongside Gary at Abilene Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Sterling College or Abilene First United Methodist Church. Memorials may be dropped off or mailed to Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home, 414 NW Third St., Abilene, Kansas 67410.