Marilyn Jo Maly

Marilyn Maly died on May 5, 2025. Following a bad fall and hospitalization, Marilyn spent her last week in the compassionate care of Tru Hospice in Longmont. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Michael Ward, who is a resident at The Bridge assisted living community in Longmont.

Marilyn had four sons, three of whom are alive and well. Brian (b. 1951) lives in Helena, Montana. Stephen (b. 1954) lives in Bozeman, Montana with his wife Alice Stanley and a mutt named Brigit. John (b. 1955), resides in Littleton, Colorado with his wife Tina and 3 dogs, Mojo, Austin, and Vanessa. John and Tina’s daughter Meghan, who lives with her husband Tom in Centennial, Colorado, was Marilyn’s only granddaughter.

The fourth and youngest Maly brother, Michael (b. 1958), died in a motorcycle accident at age 19. Marilyn grieved that loss until her dying day, but she otherwise enjoyed an active life with her second husband Mike and was well aware of the enduring love and respect of her sons, other family members, and many friends.

Marilyn was born in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1931. She was the middle child; her two sisters Shirley and Beverly have preceded Marilyn in death. Their parents, William and Dulcie Reckewey, raised the three daughters in Norfolk and Lincoln.

Marilyn married Joe Maly in 1951. They raised four boys in Omaha. Following fishing and camping trips in the 1960s, the family moved to Boulder, Colorado. In the ensuing years, Marilyn suffered some teasing about abandoning the flock in Nebraska and switching her allegiance from the Cornhuskers to the Colorado University Buffalos. It was a pleasant irony for her that most of her blood relatives recognized the wisdom of moving west and ended up in Colorado and Arizona.

Marilyn endured the playful shenanigans of her four boys and their dad with ready smiles overlaying the occasional grimace. She was a good if not entirely happy camper. She was always athletic, and engaged in tennis, golf, and cycling with her second husband Mike. Her competitive spirit was also evidenced in feisty games of Bridge.

Marilyn divorced Joe in 1980. Their relationship remained amicable. Joe passed away in 1999. After finding each other through the sonorous “good offices” of the Boulder Chorale, Mike and Marilyn were married outdoors in May of 1993 at Sapphire Point on Swan Mountain Road in Summit County. They subsequently enjoyed a lot of music, theatre, foreign travel, and road trips together.

Marilyn worked for decades as a dedicated and highly valued secretary for McDowell & Associates, a surveying and engineering firm in Boulder. She played the piano and could sight-read music like nobody’s business. The loss of manual dexterity in recent years due to arthritis was a blow. It is comforting to know that music accompanied her passing as the Threshold Singers offered a medley of ballads and show tunes at her bedside at Tru Hospice.

Marilyn Maly had a long and mostly good life. She will be sorely missed by her surviving husband, sons, and friends.