ABSTRACT
Upon hearing the news I began to reflect on our life together. Growing up as the youngest of four children was always a fun thing for me. Having a big sister nine years older was frustrating, maddening, and thrilling. Both my parents worked full time, and my sister Marilyn was given the task of managing her three younger siblings during the summer. She would assign us chores around the house, while she sunbathed in the backyard in her white two-piece swimming suit, which in the 1950s was daring. As a young sister I loved watching my big sister make paper dolls, and I remember visiting her at college and thinking I wanted to be just like her. She was my first sibling to get married, and she had my parents’ first grandchild, and my first nephew. Later, when I had four kids of my own, she welcomed me into her home for weeks at a time during the summer. She was my children’s beloved Aunt Marilyn and loved by all. We called her the mayor of her small town in Perry, Utah. In her later years her husband had a stroke and she became his caregiver, never complaining and always keeping a positive attitude. As she reached her 80s her task as a caregiver became more and more demanding and her health suffered. Her small-town hospital was not able to handle her health issues such as kidney failure and pneumonia following
gallbladder surgery. Like so many caregivers, she died before those for whom she was caring.
