Marylynn Gwen Lee Collins was born on November 19, 1928 in Los Angeles, CA and passed away in her home on March 10, 2023 at the age of 94.
She graduated from high school in 1945, and met her future husband, Dr. Loring Leiter when she went to work for him at age 17. They married 2 years later, in 1947. They had three children, Maria, Michael and Ruth, in that order.
Very soon after their wedding, her husband began to suffer a series of small strokes. He believed that she was soon going to be the sole support of the family so they agreed that she would start college in 1958. His concerns became a reality, when in 1961, a few months before the end of her junior year, he suffered a massive stroke that left him unable to speak or move for over 20 years. To allow her to finish her degree, three local families each offered to take one child for the next year.
After earning her BA in Education, she got her first teaching job in 1962, teaching 4th grade. Over her 32 year teaching career, she continued her education in bits and pieces, earning her MA in Education in 1973.
She continued to expand her knowledge and experience, earning credentials for Educationally Handicapped, Special Education, Severely & Learning Handicapped, Language Disabled, Lifetime Credentials for the California University System and the Community College System and Education Administration.
In 1965, she was hired as the first woman Job Corps Center instructor in the U.S. She designed an innovative reading program for young men 16-21 who read at less than 8th grade level. She also taught handwriting.
She then received an offer to return to her Alma Mater as a Professor, teaching would-be teachers best practices, how to develop curriculums and supervising the student teachers in their senior year. She did that for four years before returning to the elementary classroom, retiring in 1993.
In 1996, she moved to Conrad, MT to be closer to Ruth and her husband who had made their home in Valier, MT.
She immediately felt loved and supported by people in Conrad and quickly became involved in the community.
Two years after Ruth lost her husband in 2013, she approached her mother to see if she would like to have a new adventure and move to Hamilton, MT at age 84. In true Marylynn fashion, she said “what are we waiting for?”
She missed all of her friends in Conrad terribly, but she quickly threw herself into personal and volunteer activities in the community. She was active in the LDS church, delivered meals on wheels, being recognized as the oldest person delivering meals in Montana at age 90, was active with the local DKG chapter, worked at the genealogy library at her church, and always found time to kick up her heels with friends.
Marylynn will be missed by many. She was one of those people who “bloomed where they are planted.”
She was preceded in death by her son and husband.
She is survived by two daughters, three grandsons and three great grandchildren.
Donations could be made to the Conrad Museum or to a charity of the donor’s choice.