Marilyn attended and began her career at Marshalltown High School. Starting as a work-study student in 1950 at the age of 15, Marilyn served as secretary to the Superintendent of the Marshalltown Community School District for the next 67 years, retiring in 2017. Marilyn liked to say that she had to “train” five Superintendents of Schools, and she took great pride in being the longest-serving public employee in the history of the state of Iowa.

Marilyn married Lowell (“Tuck”) Rhodes in February 1967 and together they raised four children in a home filled with laughter and love. The family looked forward all year to their two-week summer vacations, when they would all pile into the family station wagon to visit national parks and other attractions across the country. Marilyn and Tuck would spend the following fall and winter months preparing lengthy projector slide shows of the trips to show to family, friends and anyone else who said, “Sure we’d like to see your vacation pictures” – perhaps not realizing they had just agreed to two or three hours of viewing.

Marilyn loved people and always had a story to tell. Her family always said that Marilyn had never met a stranger, only friends. They had to plan on double the time for going out to dinner or events, or even running errands with her, because she knew everyone she saw in town and would talk with them all.

Marilyn was an avid Iowa Hawkeye fan and attended every home football game for many years. She especially loved going to bowl games, attending seven of them with her family. She was a member of the First Congregational Church and served on the board of the Marshall County I-Club. She most enjoyed spending time with family and friends and also, watching sports, listening to music and completing word puzzles.

Marilyn is survived by her four children: Kent Rhodes, of Lisle, Illinois; Kevin Rhodes (Melinda Lopes), of Hugo, Minnesota; Piper Harlan, of Des Moines; and Eric Rhodes (Davi Reis), of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She also had four grandchildren: Andrea Arens (Greg Arens), of West Des Moines; Emily Rhodes, of Cambridge, England; Haley Rhodes and Caleb Rhodes, both of Hugo, Minnesota.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband, parents and four siblings.

There will be a visitation on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 6:00 – 9:00 pm for those who would like to say their last goodbyes to Marilyn at Mitchell Funeral Home, Marshalltown, Iowa. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 10:30 am at First Congregational Church in Marshalltown, Iowa. For those unable to attend services, a livestream will be available to view on the Mitchell Family Funeral Home Facebook page. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes for memorial donations to be made to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital (Ways to Give | University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital (uichildrens.org) or to the Marshall County Conservation Board (Conservation | Marshall County, IA (marshallcountyia.gov).