Marilyn Sullivan Rabideau

Marilyn’s life journey began in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where she was born to John and Florence Sullivan of Republic. The middle of five children, she attended Republic – Michigamme High School and graduated with a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Marilyn worked for one year at Pratt-Whitney Aircraft in Hartford, Connecticut, where she analyzed jet engine sound frequencies. She had met her future husband, Ken Rabideau, at Michigan Tech, and they were married in 1969. Inspired by the music of John Denver, they headed west to the Rocky Mountains to find work and start a new life together.

After a summer of job hunting on the front range, fate landed them in Grand Junction, Colorado with little more than a handful of food stamps. They followed their dreams over the next 50 years, and what a rich life they had in this welcoming community!

Marilyn worked early on as a word processing programmer at Plateau Typewriter (later BOSS). After she and Ken started their family, she worked part time for First Security Savings and Loan, the company that Ken and their friend, Dennis Edson, had founded, and later with their mortgage company, Unifirst Mortgage.

As Ken’s personal confidant, sounding board, copy editor, and trusted advisor, she was a driving force behind the scenes.

Their home was headquarters for friends of their two sons, Jay and Lee. Marilyn made everyone feel welcome, and she was like a mom to many. Sue Edson’s daughter Lindsey wrote, “I always appreciated what a good listener she was. Even as a kid, she would be engaged in our conversations, asking questions and making jokes with her quick wit and easy laughter.”

Friends relied on Marilyn for her sound advice and wealth of information. She was often characterized as the glue that held things together. She made everything look so easy, and she did it with laughter and love.

Marilyn sang with the Sweet Adelines, served on the Grand Junction High School accountability committee, read for 13 years with the GJHS academic team, and was a counselor for the Daniels’ Fund scholarship program.

In addition to her friends, she will be deeply missed by her husband, Ken; their son, Jay; his wife, Ami and their two children, Dayne and Layla, currently living on the island of Majorca, Spain; their son, Lee, his wife, Tanya, and their baby daughter (expected to arrive in July), now living in Denver; her brother, Larry Sullivan (Sharon) and sister, Kay Parkinson, both of Minneapolis; her sister, Mary Carol Schrader of Milwaukee; her brother, Charlie Sullivan (Shelly) of Republic, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

“Marilyn was always so positive and bubbly that she made others around her feel good and made the world feel like a bright, happy place,” – Virginia Settle.

Marilyn had the spirit of a true Yooper- vibrant, caring, optimistic, determined. “She made a huge difference in many lives”– Allison Webb.

A remembrance celebration will be held Saturday, June 19, 3:00 pm, at Two Rivers Convention Center, in Grand Junction, Colorado.