Marilyn E. Plumb

Marilyn E. (Lin) Plumb died in her sleep as she had hoped, on April 7, 2018, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Paul Brown of Santa Fe. She was 93. Lin was born in Normal, IL, to Elbert W. and Estella (Baker) Crandall. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert Plumb, in 1944 before he shipped overseas for more than a year. They wrote each other every day and numbered each letter. Every letter arrived, although some were burned around the edges and many were censored. Lin and Bob raised their family of five children and one dog in Overland Park, KS. She parlayed her childhood love of designing clothes for her paper dolls, and her dashed dreams of becoming a fashion designer—her father wouldn’t allow her to go to school in the “wicked city” of Chicago—into an unpaid career, making all the clothes for her family. She was an expert and exacting sewing teacher to her three daughters. Later, she became a quilter, making quilts for all her children and grandchildren. As her children grew up and began attending college, Lin started working at IRS to help pay tuition. She and Bob were very proud that they and their children were all debt-free at the end of the college years. One of the proudest achievements of Lin’s life was finally earning her college degree the same year as her youngest daughter, LeeAnne. Most of her nine grandchildren entered the world with their grandmother caring for them. Lin arrived before or immediately after the births and cooked, cleaned, changed diapers, burped babies, and lent wisdom from her vast experience with newborns. The day after Bob retired, they headed to their dream retirement spot in the mountains of Buena Vista, CO, where they designed and helped build their passive solar home. They camped, canoed, hiked, and journeyed around the country in their RV. Lin’s all-time favorite trip, in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, was to Switzerland, the country of her ancestors. She was a founder of Buena Vista’s P.E.O. Chapter IA and remained a faithful P.E.O. member even after her move to Santa Fe in 2016. She spent many years volunteering at the Children’s Clinic at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. She and Bob were instrumental in launching the Bethlehem Marketplace, held annually at Valley Fellowship Church in Buena Vista and, not surprisingly, she designed and sewed all the costumes. She was an enthusiastic singer in church choirs, the Collegiate Peaks Chorale, and the Noteables. Lin is survived by her five children and their spouses, Steve and Mary Plumb of Hartsel, CO; Susan Sanders and Nancy Wanderer of Falmouth, ME; Diane and Paul Brown of Santa Fe, NM; Scott and Laurie Plumb of Olathe, KS; and LeeAnne and Bruce Mallonee of Bangor, ME; and nine grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Betty Jo Crandall of Olathe, KS; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years and her brother Elbert W. Crandall II. At Lin’s request, there will be no memorial service. Her family and friends will gather this summer in Pleasanton, KS, to bury her ashes. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made in Lin’s memory, to Solace Crisis Treatment Center or PEO Chapter IA 6601 Valentine Way, c/o Cheryl Miller 16877 County Rd. 325 Santa Fe, NM 87507 Buena Vista, CO 81211