Thursday, June 21, 2007

In Memoriam: Marilyn Ann Thorbjornsen, Lt Col, US Army (Ret)

Our dear friend, Marilyn Thorbjornsen, died unexpectedly last Friday in Madison, Alabama. Her son, Lee, home on leave from the Army, was with her when she went into distress and an ambulance was called. Unfortunately, Marilyn passed away before she could get to a hospital.

Marilyn was born on February 13, 1952, in Normal, Illinois. She spent a career in the United States Army, with assignments around the world. She rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring. After her retirement from the Army, Marilyn obtained a teaching credential and began working for the Madison, Ala., City Schools. Students and parents describe Marilyn as "awesome," "great," "young-hearted," and "beloved." And those sentiments come as no surprise.

There were few finer human beings on this planet than Marilyn. Always positive, she was proud of her children and cared about all with whom she came in contact.

Marilyn is survived by her three adult children, Krissy A. Thorbjornsen and twins Kelly Sue Thorbjornsen and Lee Thomas Thorbjornsen; sister, Becky Jo Behnke; brother, Steven T. Goss; mother, Loretta Goss; and grandson, Michael Thomas Camp-Thorbjornsen.

Marilyn will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

UPDATE (10:02 pm PDT, 6/21/07): The Huntsville Times ran this feature article about Marilyn yesterday.

1 comment:

Miriam Robbins said...

I'm sorry for your loss, Craig.

As I was reading your memorial, I thought of how important it should be for a family historian to record the names of friends, neighbors, co-workers and others who have influenced their daily lives, as a memorial for future generations. Sometimes I've come across names of people in my ancestors' writings and I have no idea who they were; probably not family, yet they were an important part of my ancestors' lives.

Conversely, I received a very nice e-mail from a former co-worker of my grandfather after his death in January. I have never met this gentleman, nor will I probably ever have a chance to; however, he knew about me and my parents from conversations with Grandpa at work over the years. He told me some great stories about Grandpa, too!

Those important connections with non-relatives should be an essential part of recorded family history.