Marilyn Stephenson

Marilyn Stephenson, age 68, Baxter, died Sunday, October 16, 2005 at St. Joseph?s Medical Center in Brainerd. Funeral services will be Tuesday, October 18, at 10 am, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter, with Reverend Jennifer Wilson and Reverend Darrell Pederson officiating. Friends may visit at Brenny Funeral Chapel in Baxter on Monday, October 17, from 6-8 pm and at the church during the hour prior to services. Interment will be at the St. Petri Cemetery in Gary, MN. Memorials will be directed to the Lord of Life building fund and the Lutheran Student Foundation at Bemidji State University.
Marilyn Joyce Desannoy was born January 18, 1937 in Soudan, MN, to Frank and Julia (McKay) Desannoy. She grew up and graduated high school in Tower. After graduation she worked as a secretary at the school for four years before attending college. She graduated from Bemidji State University with a BS in Elementary Education in 1963. She was united in marriage to John Stephenson August 10, 1963 in Tower. The couple moved to Cannon Falls, where Marilyn taught elementary school. After two years they moved to Grand Rapids. Marilyn stayed home to raise her children and then returned to work, teaching at Murphy and Forest Lake Elementary Schools for 18 years. She retired in 1990. The couple moved to Baxter in 1999. Marilyn was a member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter. She loved her children and grandchildren deeply, and enjoyed extending her love to neighborhood children. Marilyn and John traveled extensively after their retirement, enjoying trips to Peru, Scandinavia, Alaska, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Rockies, and Branson. She also traveled to Scotland, England, and Wales with her mother, Julia, and her daughter, Patty. She was a natural caretaker and a wonderful cook, and is warmly remembered for her hospitality.

Marilyn will be deeply missed by John, her husband of 42 years; her children, Patty (Brian) Wallace, Baxter, and Paul (Lisa) Stephenson, Mound; grandchildren, Julia and Jamie Wallace and John Stephenson; her mother, Julia Desannoy, Virginia; and siblings, Beverly Lawrence, Virginia and Robert Desannoy, Golden Valley. Her father preceded her in death.