Marilynn Lucille Wennerstrom

A remembrance and celebration of Marilynn's life will be held in the chapel at Grace United Methodist Church, 2024 E University Dr. Mesa, AZ 85213 on December 20, 2023 at 2PM. Friends and family are welcome to come and share memories of Marilynn.

Marilynn Lucille Wennerstrom, consummate Mesa city activist, has passed at the age of 87.

Marilynn was born in Chicago in 1936 to Russell Phillip and Charlotte Agnes Loh (nee Lannon). She played clarinet in the Edgebrook community children’s band alongside her two brothers, graduating to baton twirling and cheerleading. Marilynn graduated from Chicago’s Taft High School at 16 and began studies at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

On a whim, Marilynn decided mermaid life was for her, so she left a note for her parents to not be worried, that she had gone to Florida to become a Weeki Wachee Mermaid. Marilynn returned to Chicago after several months, but because she did not fully complete the season, her last pay was withheld. As a foreshadowing of the rest of her life, she retained an attorney who reminded the management that neither she nor any of the mermaids had signed releases for their likenesses to be used in product advertisement, which led to the prompt delivery of her last pay. As part of the agreement she signed the release, so somewhere there exists an advertisement with Marilynn promoting deodorant.

Marilynn’s love of swimming persisted her entire life, with her bravest attempt being one of seven long-distance swimmers who qualified to swim the 36 miles from Chicago to Michigan City across Lake Michigan in 1960. Weather conditions prevented any of the swimmers finishing that year, but she was the final swimmer plucked from the water.

Following her mermaid jaunt, Marilynn received a degree in art education from the Art Institute of Chicago. (She also married a young man who will only be noted as an aside, as the marriage was not a happy one and ended within a few years.) Marilynn then held art related positions, teaching in a high school, and working as an in-office artist at Time Magazine, producing original art that would be used within the company.

Soon after, Marilynn attended her 10-year high school reunion. Word that she was single got back to her childhood crush, Stan Wennerstrom, who began writing her letters from across the country. A whirlwind romance ensued, and marriage followed in 1964 at Christ the King church in Mesa with only the priest, the altar boy, Marilynn, Stan, and two friends, Bob and Bonnie Walker, in attendance. Marilynn and Stan were married for 28 years until Stan’s death in 1992. They raised four children, Bob Wennerstrom of Bayfield, Colorado, Susie Arnpriester (Jonathan) of Chandler, Arizona, Kristin Guilonard (John) of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and Julie Wennerstrom of Lorain, Ohio.

In 1970, as she and Stan attended a few City Council meetings to resolve the problem of a neighbor’s livestock getting out and running into their yard, the activism bug bit Marilynn. She began routinely attending meetings, and prayed her third child would not be born on the day of a council meeting (she wasn’t). Marilynn had a better attendance record than some council members in the 1970s. In the media, due to her relentless advocacy for justice, Marilynn was sometimes considered a gadfly. Her tenacity was a source of press among the reporters who covered local politics, earning her praise and respect from elected officials. With her razor-sharp memory and fearlessness, Marilynn made certain the voice of the people was heard.

Later in life, Marilynn could be seen every spring waving cars into her driveway near Mesa’s HoHoKam Stadium. She enjoyed quality time with her grandchildren who eagerly helped in the Spring Training parking adventures. Her quick wit and fond Chicago remembrances endeared her to Cubs fans, and even after the Cubs moved to Riverview, she enjoyed lasting friendships with the fans she had met along the way.

Marilynn was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her two brothers, Russell and Dick Loh. She is survived by her four children, niece Caron Wilson (Greg), nephew Mike Loh (Sue), sister-in-law Pam Loh, and grandchildren, Grace Wadsworth (Viking), Lily Arnpriester, Wilson Arnpriester, Henry Arnpriester, Kira Gullion (Jacob), Paige Wennerstrom, Dominic Guilonard (Nic), and Zoe Guilonard.

Marilynn’s burial on 9/27/2023 was private, but a celebration of life is being planned for later in the year. In memory of Marilynn, the family encourages donations to the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest at www.aclpi.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AdvantageMelcherRoses.com for the Wennerstrom family.