Marilyn Aurea Munier

Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, daughter of a contractor and a homemaker, Marilyn enjoyed a happy childhood with her loving parents and three lively sisters. When she was sixteen, she went to a local high school basketball game and met Purdue University student Paul Leo Munier of Troy, Indiana. After graduating from St. Francis High School for Girls, she worked in banking until marrying Paul in a Christmas wedding in December 1954. Her dear friend Barbara Theme saved the day when Marilyn’s long veil caught fire and the quick-thinking bridesmaid pulled it off before the flames could spread. Marilyn and Paul then began their life together.

For Marilyn and her new husband, life in the Army and beyond was an adventure that took them back and forth across the country and to Europe. Marilyn gave birth to their daughter Paula Sue in March 1956, and then there were three. Marilyn was the quintessential officer’s wife, active in military family support activities and serving as President of the Officer’s Wives Club. A devoted wife and mother, Marilyn kept the home fires burning when Paul was deployed to South Korea and then to Vietnam.

Over the years, she worked outside the home in banking and in retail, most notably as a bridal consultant for Macy’s. Marilyn was a chic woman of exceptionally good taste and thanks to her many a bride looked her best on her special day, and many a bridesmaid was spared appearing in public in some god-awful taffeta monstrosity.

Marilyn applied that same good taste to art and design. No matter how unattractive the living quarters she found herself in during countless moves, she transformed those quarters into elegant, comfortable homes. A one-woman HGTV makeover show, Marilyn was a true master of the sewing needle, the paint brush, and the glue gun. Joanna Gaines had nothing on her. And she did it all over again, every move, year in and year out.

Most of all, Marilyn was a woman who put family first. She raised a daughter and helped raise three grandchildren, and also took in several other young family members and friends who needed a place to stay and/or a guiding hand. The matriarch of the Munier family, she was the one family and friends alike turned to when they needed a shoulder to cry on or a rousing pep talk or a gentle push to pursue a dream. She would tell you that you could do anything—and you would believe her. Along with her words of wisdom, she’d whip up your favorite dessert—she was an extraordinary baker who believed that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”—and then send you out to conquer the universe. And when you did, more pie—or cheesecake or fudge or brownies or coffee cake or lemon squares—for you. Marilyn’s way of sweetening your world, one treat at a time.

Marilyn leaves her daughter Paula Munier Lee and her husband Michael Lee; grandchildren Alexis Munier, Gregory Paul Bergman, and Michael Paul Lee, and great-granddaughters Elektra, Calypso, and Demelza. She also leaves her sister and brother-in-law Susie and Larry Mortsolf of Beavercreek, Ohio, numerous cousins and nieces and nephews, and other beloved family members.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation Marilyn’s favorite charity, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

A private graveside service will be held next week. A celebration of life will be planned for this summer.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Bennett Funeral Home of Concord NH.