Marilyn Jean Dimmer (McCormack)'s Obituary
Marilyn Jean (McCormack) Dimmer passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, surrounded by family and friends. She was born in Tacoma, WA to James Harry McCormack and Edna Rebekah Turner on August 9, 1930. She grew up in the North End, and graduated from Stadium High School in 1948. She attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority, and graduated in 1953 with a degree in Education and a minor in Spanish. After graduation, she and a college friend went on an adventure to Mexico, where she put her Spanish skills to good use. She returned to Tacoma and took a position with the Tacoma School District as a teacher at Edison Elementary School teaching third grade.
Shortly thereafter she became reacquainted with a gentleman whom she had first met in college, John Charles Dimmer, and they were married on December 14, 1957. In 1960 she retired from teaching to start a family, and at that time also began to increase her involvement in a variety of charitable and community activities. Service and philanthropy were major components of Marilyn’s life. Among her many activities she was a member of the Junior League of Tacoma, a member of the Board of Directors of Tacoma Goodwill Industries, a member of the Board of Directors of Franke Tobey Jones, a member of the Board of Directors of The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County and a member of the Nesika Club.
Together with her husband she established the John C. & Marilyn J. Dimmer Scholarship which, for over forty years, has awarded college scholarships to high school graduates in the Clover Park School District. Additionally, she and her husband established The Dimmer Family Foundation which has provided financial support to the arts, healthcare, education, and veterans’ causes in the greater Tacoma community. She was predeceased by her husband, John Charles Dimmer. She is survived by her sister, Harriett Anne Triquart (Bill), her son, John Brian Dimmer (Diane), her daughter, Carolyn Jean Dimmer, her granddaughter, Colleen Elizabeth Tangvald (Baldur), her grandsons, CPT John William Dimmer and Alexander Scott Dimmer, and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the wonderful care
team who so lovingly looked after Marilyn during the last years of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County.
Funeral arrangements for Marilyn Jean Dimmer have been faithfully entrusted to Mountain View Funeral Home, which is located at 4100 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood, WA, 98499, and can be reached at (253) 584-0252.
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