Marilyn Mae Craig

Marilyn Mae Craig was born on May 23, 1946 in Liberal, KS to Paul and Irene [ne. Cousins] Craig. She was the fifth of five children - the fourth being her twin sister Carolyn born minutes before Marilyn. Throughout their lives she and Carolyn were very close. Her parents raised Marilyn, Carolyn and their older siblings Robert, Sid, and Sue on a farm in Hooker, OK. The children worked on the farm when not in school. Like her older siblings, she and Carolyn went to public school in Hooker, graduating in 1965. After the tragic death of Marilyn’s mom to cancer in 1964, she and Carolyn continued to live with their father at the farm and later in town when his health declined. They helped care for their dad and took classes at Goodwell State University until his death in 1968. Soon afterward Carolyn moved to Tampa, FL and Marilyn to Oklahoma City.

Marilyn worked for the Oklahoma Department of Education in downtown Oklahoma City about 30 years until her retirement in 2008. Marilyn joined St. Luke’s (formerly United) Methodist Church in 1978. Several friends she met through St. Luke’s became her Oklahoma City family. She was an active volunteer in the congregational care ministry and later in the church’s Poteet Theatre. Marilyn - a little person who loved to sing - was the singular true Munchkin in Poteet’s The Wizard of Oz in 2010, affectionately known as “Grandma Munchkin.” Marilyn loved to research her family history through books on Hooker, OK history and ancestry.com. She delighted in getting to know extended family members with whom she would regularly correspond.

When Marilyn could no longer live on her own she moved to Bellevue Health and Rehabilitation in August 2021, living there until her death on May 26, 2026. She loved many in her Bellevue family and appreciated the care she received there. Marilyn was a dear soul who would laugh and tease family and friends with youthful enthusiasm. She loved and served her Lord throughout her life, sharing the love of Christ with all who were blessed to know her. She died holding a picture of Jesus in her hand and listening to her favorite hymn, In the Garden. She is survived by her sister Sue Goldsby of Ulysses, KS, her brother Robert Craig and wife Judy of Loveland, CO; her Oklahoma City family Rachel, Tim, Cooper & Erin Barnard, Heather Gfeller, Bertie Allison and many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Sid, twin sister Carolyn, and several of her St. Luke’s family including Aleta and Jack Winkler. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Music and/or Children’s Ministries at St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73103. www.stlukesokc.org.