Schumacher, Marilyn Frances (née Bleecker) 1932-2025.

Our beautiful, loving, wife and mother passed away on Tuesday, January 21st, surrounded by family.

The loved ones who will be missing her so much, are her husband of 73 years, Jim, and their children, Kathy Farrar, of Hill City SD, Becky Boyce (Japheth) of Rapid City, SD, Julie Benz (Tom) of Denver CO, and Stewart Schumacher (Mary) of Ashburn, VA.

Missing her hugs are twelve grandchildren: Jenny, Sarah, Sam, Rachel, Christine, Marty, Casey, Tommy, Richard, Josh, Forrest and Kelly.

Sixteen great-grandchildren will also miss her hugs:  John, Mia, Tré, Sophia, Keeley, Soren, Selah, Narin, Ryan, Megan, Rory, Áine, McKenna, Declan, Nolin and Callum, (with another one on the way).

Her brother Ron Bleecker of North Fort Meyers Florida, who called her "Sissy," will miss their weekly Sunday phone conversations.

Her beautiful, caring, nieces, nephews, a cousin, and her longtime close friends are going to miss her too.

Marilyn was born in Beaver, Oklahoma to Francis Albert Bleecker and Mary Elsie (née Nolin). Her father was an engineer for the state of Oklahoma, so they traveled a lot. He built bridges and roads all over the state of Oklahoma. Because of that, she went to seventeen grade schools before 5th grade.

During the war, her father enlisted in The Army to lead a unit to build The Ledo Road from India to Burma. He was gone for three years so Marilyn was able to start and finish junior high in Oklahoma City, OK. It was nice to be in one place for a while.

After the war, they moved to Imperial, Nebraska where she attended and graduated from high school. Her father was in charge of building the Enders Reservoir there.

She was active in theater, debate, choir and glee club, and participated in state competitions.

She took a lot of math classes. During her sophomore year, her bookkeeping teacher called her in after school.  A local banker had asked if she knew any students who could work in a bank and asked if she would be interested. The teacher told Marilyn, and her parents, that she was the only student that she would recommend. Marilyn took the job and worked there every day after school and in the summers. Her affinity for numbers and her love of spread sheets, made her an expert accountant in the years to come.

She was voted Chase County High School Football Queen in her junior year, which was usually reserved for a senior girl. One night at a football game, at half time, the football announcer asked if she would call the game because he was losing his voice. So, she went up into the box and called the rest of the game. She knew football from watching it with her dad, and she knew all of the player's names.  After the game, he told her that she had done a great job, but what was that comment about "on the rails?" She laughed, and said that she thought it might have been from watching horse racing with her dad.

The summer after graduation, they moved to Pierre, SD where her father was project manager for one of several stages of the Oahe Dam.

She was slated to attend the University of Oklahoma, but attended the University of South Dakota instead. There she met her true love Jim Schumacher, on a blind date. They were married in Vermillion, SD.  Jim finished law school and then they moved to his hometown, Rapid City. During their marriage they were seldom apart.

Marilyn was active in church, community and politics.  Her daughters were happy that their mom was their Girl Scout Leader for many years. She enjoyed singing in the choir at The First Congregational Church, where she also taught Sunday School and was involved with multiple church groups. The Schumacher kitchen was often full of homemade cakes, pies and cookies for the church bazaars. Often, the kitchen counters and dining room table were covered with pop bottles with baked angel food cake pans cooling on them. One time, she volunteered to make fifteen lemon meringue pies. She started out making them from scratch but realized that it was going to be too much work. So, she bought some package mixes and threw in a few lemon seeds into each pie. The plan worked, she fooled everyone, but she confessed in the end. We all had a good laugh.

She was president of the South Dakota League of Women Voters and held offices with the South Dakota Republican Women. When asked to run for a state office, (she would have to commute to work in Pierre), she declined, stating that she wanted to be with her husband and children.

She played the piano skillfully.  To watch and listen to her play some of the piano masterpieces was quite a thrill.  She could dance the Charleston like no other. In the early 1970's she was voted one of ten" best dressed women" in Rapid City.

During all of these activities, she always made sure that her children were able to pursue their dreams and encourage their individual talents.

A move to Denver in the late 1970's, allowed Marilyn to finish her degree in construction management. She secured a position as an estimator for Mission Viejo Company, the developers of Highlands Ranch. During one of the weekly meetings, the director said, "No plans leave this building without Marilyn's approval."

In the 1980's she and Jim moved to Oklahoma City to care for her mother Mary. While she was there, she worked as the Director of Records for HTB, an international architectural and engineering firm.   She was in charge of a large facility with documents and files.  She was elected and served on the board of that prestigious firm.

Marilyn had a brilliant mind and people knew it. One day a couple of engineers came to her office and asked her to figure the circumference of a culvert. Of course, she did it with ease, and taught them how to do it during the process. In that position, she had to fire someone and was not looking forward to it.  So, she bought the woman flowers, and presented them to her as she gave her the bad news.

Marilyn and Jim moved back to The Black Hills and she worked for Kay Steuerwald at Mt. Rushmore as office manager.  Kay told her that she was the only person she could trust in her absence.

While living outside of Hill City with Jim, they had their teenaged grandchildren live with them during the summers. This gave the grandchildren the opportunity to work in the tourism industry in Hill City and Keystone. Many wonderful memories were made during those summers. The grandchildren are very close and have a special bond with their grandparents and with each other because of that.

Many parties and cook-outs were hosted by Marilyn and Jim during those summers. The best was the Annual Fourth of July Celebration with over a hundred people attending. All of the food was prepared by Marilyn, Jim, Kathy and family.

Marilyn was a beautiful woman with a beaming smile, a great sense of humor and an easy laugh. She always had an open door for anyone who needed help. She loved cooking, baking and entertaining friends and family.  She was always a lady and a "class act."  Marilyn was a believer of Jesus Christ and led a Christian life.

Loved ones that cleared the path for her are her "Daddy," Frances, her "Mother," Mary, and her brother, Jim Bleecker.

Thank you to the Avantara Mountain View Staff for the last six months. Marilyn commented on how you lovingly cared for her. We really appreciate your kindness and attention.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be sent to the Hill City Public Library.

The family will have a Celebration of Life this summer.