Obituary of Marilyn Jean Kingma

Marilyn Jean Kingma, age 83, loving wife and mother, passed away on January 4, 2024.  She is survived by two daughters:  Kathleen J. Kingma (Doug Pippel) of Phoenix AZ and Robin G. Kingma of Scottsdale AZ.  Marilyn was born to Dwight D. Dir and Margaret B. (Cheney) Dir on January 10, 1940, in Pasadena CA. 

Marilyn’s childhood was spent living with her family in several locations: Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, Nashville TN, and Long Island NY when her father served as a pilot in WWII, and later as a commercial airline pilot.  In total, she attended 13 separate schools before graduating from Hillsboro High School in Nashville TN in 1957.  She then decided to attend the distant University of Washington to study chemistry.  There, she met her future husband Ronald G. Kingma, who was studying chemical engineering.  Good chemistry won the day!  They married on September 2, 1960, and moved to Torrance CA to begin their new shared life.  After studying at UCLA for one and a half years, Marilyn was awarded her BS degree in Chemistry.

Shortly after receiving her degree, Marilyn gave birth to her first daughter, Kathleen, in 1962.  Marilyn and Ron decided that she would be a full-time mother and homemaker while Ron worked to support the family.  In 1964, Marilyn birthed her second child, Robin.  Raising and educating two daughters turned out to be a challenging occupation and source of enjoyment. 

Marilyn and Ron lived with their two girls in CA, NJ, TX, and OH.  After Ron’s retirement in 1992, they lived in St. Augustine FL for 11 years then moved to Mesa AZ.  They were always active in the churches they attended over the years.  Marilyn became President of her PEO group while living in OH and maintained an interest in promoting the PEO scholastic scholarship program which resulted in several young women receiving these prestigious awards in recent years.  Marilyn was also devoted to tennis for many years playing on women’s competitive teams and along side Ron in social mixed doubles. 

In 2019, Ron passed away and Marilyn moved to Hawthorn Court at Ahwatukee in Phoenix AZ for Alzheimer’s disease care.  Marilyn was blessed with an uncanny happiness and carefree attitude during her final years; being near her daughters meant many shared lunches, ice cream treks, and visits from her granddogs.  Her beautiful smile will always be remembered. 

Marilyn’s journey on earth is now finished - but her life goes on in glory.  A private family ceremony to commit her ashes at Red Mountain United Methodist church’s columbarium in Mesa AZ will be held on January 26, 2024.  PEO and the Red Mountain United Methodist Church of Mesa are favored charitable organizations for any donations memorializing Marilyn.