Marilyn J. Gamblin's Obituary
Marilyn Joyce Gamblin passed away peacefully on August 4, 2024 at age 86.
Marilyn was born the youngest of three daughters to Ted and Henderieka "Rica" (Schneider) Giebink on October 27, 1937 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Giebinks moved to Washington after World War 2. After staying for a time in Yakima with their oldest daughter, Doris, they moved to the Seattle area where Ted took a job in the accounting department at Boeing.
A brief marriage to Lynn Hauser resulted in the birth of her son, Lee, in 1955. She married the love of her life, Leonard Gamblin, in 1957, and welcomed her daughter Marcia in 1961.
After living for several years in south Seattle, the family moved to a house on Five Mile Lake in Federal Way in 1964. The house was heavily damaged by fire in April 1965 while the family was out at a drive in movie. They lived in a single-wide mobile home on the property while the house was rebuilt that summer, and remained there until 1973, remaining in Federal Way for the rest of their lives.
Having a career was always important to Marilyn. She worked in the accounting department at Boeing from the mid-1950s, and after the birth of Marcia went to work for Pacific Bank (now Wells Fargo), first as a teller, and eventually as a human resources officer. In 1980 she joined the King County Library System as manager of human resources, a position she held until 1993, when she left to care for Leonard until his death from leukemia in 1997.
After Leonard's death she became more involved at Marine View Presbyterian Church, where she served as a ruling elder, Stephen Minister, women's Bible study leader, and small group and adult education leader, among many other things. She served as an Elder Commissioner to the 2006 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Marilyn also had a great heart for people affected by the conflicts in Palestine. She worked with the Olympia Presbytery's Peace and Justice Task Force, and over three different visits to the Holy Land worked and lived with families in Israel, Gaza and The West Bank. She hosted visiting Palestinian Christian women on visits to the United States.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her sister Ardith and her husband Leonard. She is survived by her sister Doris Balholm, of Spokane, WA; her son Lee Hauser and his wife Marilyn, and her grandsons Edward and Jonathan of Federal Way, WA; her daughter Marcia Larsen and her husband James of Las Cruces, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made the the Alzheimer's Foundation of America:
https://alzfdn.org/donate/
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