Margaret "Marnie" Kleindienst

On June 3, 2015, Margaret “Marnie” Kleindienst, 91, went to the Lord after a brief but valiant fight against recurrent cancer. Marnie was born on March 3, 1924, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio to Wallace and Lucile Dunbar. Her grandfather emigrated from a small village in Scotland to Cleveland where he founded the Dunbar Construction Company which was carried on by her father. Marnie grew up in Cleveland with sisters Shirley and Janet. She graduated from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and worked for the British Information Services during the War. After the War, she returned to Radcliffe to pursue a master’s degree where she met Richard “Dick” Kleindienst, a native of Winslow, Arizona and Harvard Law School student. They married in 1948 and moved to Phoenix two years later. Marnie had an abiding interest in art leading to her involvement in the early years of the Phoenix Art Museum. She was a devout Episcopalian and was instrumental in the founding of All Saints’ Episcopal Church Day School in North Phoenix. Dick practiced law and became involved in Republican politics which took them to Northern Virginia in 1969 following Dick’s appointment as Deputy Attorney General and later Attorney General under Richard Nixon. While there Marnie continued her passion for the arts as a founding board member of Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Fairfax, Virginia and a docent at the National Gallery of Art. They returned to Arizona in 1979 where Marnie continued her love for the Church and the Arts. Marnie and Dick had four children, Alfred, Wallace, Anne and Carolyn and six grandchildren. Marnie lived her faith every day and was right with the Lord when she passed away. She was a compassionate and caring soul; a loving mother and grandmother; generous to a fault; an unapologetic lover of animals, particularly dogs; keenly interested in all things, especially art, history and irises; and a beloved friend and mentor to many. Her memorial service is at All Saints’ Episcopal Church at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to All Saints' Episcopal Church or AZ Humane Society.