Marilyn Raye Lohr

She travelled by train as a baby with her mother to Boise, Idaho to be with her father as he fulfilled his military service at the end of World War II. The young family then returned to Lexington and her father, known to all as Bud Lohr, built a sturdy little house to raise his growing family.

Marilyn is survived by four younger brothers: Robert Glenn Lohr Jr. (Buddy) and his wife Rita; James Albert Lohr (Jimmy) and Cyndee; David Franklin Lohr and Pam, Samuel Clark Lohr (Sam) and wife Lynn. She was raised in a raucous but loving home and loved her parents and little brothers.

Marilyn was twice married and twice divorced. Her first ex-husband, John Hedrick passed away in 2000. Their marriage resulted in the birth of her oldest child, Christopher Scott Hedrick (Chris). Marilyn and John also had a child named John Glenn Hedrick Jr. that died at birth.

She is survived by her second ex-husband, Gideon Motley. Marilyn and Gid’s marriage led to the birth of her youngest child, Virginia Maxine Sloop. Marilyn and Gid remained close through the years and had a special bond.

Marilyn was a devoted but non traditional mom to her two children. Chris and Virginia were raised by a single mother working as hard as she could to provide for her family without giving up her unique joie de vivre. As a result they learned early and fully how to be self sufficient and strong in the face of challenges.

Marilyn’s house was a wunderkammer of art, records, books and books and books, fossils, seashells, bones and teeth, pottery, rugs, and plants. Her yard was teeming with native plants gone wild years before it was trendy. She knew the Latin names for everything in the yard and did all her own stunts with various garden implements; the weed eater and lawn mower being her constant comic foils.

Marilyn was an omnivore of knowledge. She’d quote Shakespeare or the Greeks, blast records by Little Richard, Bob Dylan, or The Rolling Stones, school you on the Aurora fossil pits, and discuss the history of the civil rights movement all at once. She was a far left liberal who read Ms. Magazine in the 80s and later took her grandchildren to Pride events. Her diverse friend group always included folks of all genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, and sexualities. She loathed a bigot and would not abide a closed mind.

Marilyn worked nearly her whole life. She was night auditor and desk clerk at a number of hotels including the Holiday Inn in Lexington. She then became a magistrate and went on to work for social services for many years. She retired in time to spend a lot of quality time with her beloved grandchildren.

Chris’s children: Zachary, Madison, and Eva and Virginia’s children: Dakota and Rose were her great joy in her later life. She taught them Latin songs, let them run a “craft factory” out of an upstairs bathroom and generally doted on them while imparting wisdom and teaching them the lyrics to Fishheads by Barnes and Barnes. There were few rules at granny’s house and laughter and love abounded.

Marilyn developed dementia and had a steady decline in health over the last few years of her life. She never lost her sense of humor or her ability to tell a good story. Even when she began to have trouble speaking she could sing a song. She had a devilish twinkle in her eye and a witty, ribald double entendre to disarm the medical staff even as her body and brain began to fail.

If you want to honor the life and spirit of Marilyn Lohr, crank up some Talking Heads, attend a protest, read a good book, go to a flea market, and love your friends and family unconditionally and without judgment or prejudice.

To quote the song (Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads) she would sing in every TJ Maxx parking lot as she searched for her beautiful car:

Time isn't holding up, time isn't after us

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.