Marilyn graduated from Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1965. She attended St. Joseph Junior College and graduated in 1967 with an Associate of Arts in Business degree, a foundation she carried forward with quiet diligence and purpose.
Marilyn devoted 27 years of service as an executive staff assistant at the Social Security office in the Federal Building in Kansas City, offering reliability, patience, and a gracious presence to those around her. After retiring, she continued to give of herself by becoming a caregiver for Home Instead Senior Care—work that reflected her compassionate nature and the gentle generosity she extended so readily.
While working at the Social Security office, Marilyn met Dan L. Dacus. They married in 1985.
Marilyn found joy in everyday pleasures, including watching the Chiefs. She was especially devoted to animals, rescuing many cats and dogs and loving her pets so deeply that she took them to pet daycare. Her care reached beyond her own home through volunteer work with local animal shelters and animal hospitals, and through her generous support of animal rights organizations—quiet acts of kindness that spoke clearly of who she was.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her father, Harold E. Carter; her mother, Helen J. Carter; her husband, Dan L. Dacus; and her nephew, Mark Sipe.
Marilyn is survived by her sister, Carole Sipe (Richard); her step-daughter, Mary Hill; her step-son, John Dacus; her step-granddaughters, Millie Dacus, Rebecca Fowler, and Rachel Hill; her step-great-grandsons, Ezekiel Vannoy and Isaac Dacus; her niece, Robin Heller (Chris); her nephew, Gregg Sipe (Nikki); and many other family, friends, and loved ones.
A Graveside Service & Interment will be held at Floral Hills Cemetery, 7000 Blue Ridge Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64133, on September 21, 2026, at 2 p.m..
Marilyn will be remembered with respect and gratitude—for a life shaped by compassion, sustained by generosity, and offered with a truly kind heart.
Marilyn's family has requested that donations in Marilyn's memory be made to Kansas City Pet Project, Wayside Waifs, or your local animal shelter, to carry on her wish of loving and supporting the homeless and underserved animals of the world.
