Marilyn Louise (Burton) Beck, 92, died peacefully, surrounded by family, on Dec. 19, 2023, at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Home in Belton, Mo.

Marilyn was born June 19, 1931, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. She was a lifelong Kansas City resident. Her mother and father were Marion Pauline (Giudici) Burton and Clyde Victor Burton. She loved the name "Ann Virginia", a pseudonym which she gave herself as a child.

Marilyn and Louis Charles Beck were married Sept. 30, 1950, at St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Kansas City. Louis died in February 2017.

Marilyn graduated from Glennon High School in 1948. She received an associate of arts degree in journalism from Penn Valley Community College in 1978, where she also worked on the college newspaper and was a student teacher.

Her first job was in 1948 after graduation at the Missouri Department Store at 12th & Walnut, then in 1949 as a secretary at the Giudici family's business, the Kansas City Monument Co. She also worked at Ralston-Purina, the office of James F. Blackburn Private Investigator, the business office at Baptist Memorial Hospital, as a writer and editor at the Northeast News, and at the Internal Revenue Service, the U. S. Census Bureau, and the Missouri ERA Coalition.

Marilyn enjoyed volunteering. She taught a drawing class in an after-school program. She did "patterning" of brain-damaged children. She was a teacher's aide. She also volunteered for the League of Women Voters, the Christian Family movement, and as a receptionist at Silent Unity. She was on an FBI list for her volunteer work in the civil rights movement. She campaigned for the mayoral run of the late Bruce R. Watkins and did fundraising work for his memorial foundation.

Marilyn loved painting with watercolors, especially flowers, a talent she discovered and a hobby she took up in the mid-1980s. Many of her works were displayed and sold, and greeting cards she painted and sent to  loved ones are cherished. She loved cultivating houseplants and enjoyed animals, especially her various pets over the years, the birds at her feeders, and the deer and horses behind her senior living community. She loved all her children and grandchildren, and took loving care of each one, and enjoyed visits with the great grands as well!  Marilyn enjoyed family vacations, and trips east with Lou, especially to Virginia Beach. She also enjoyed simple things like walks in Budd Park with Lou and Sweetie, their dog, and shopping the department store sale racks.

She decided to become a Chiefs fan in 2019, started watching their games, and, of course, loved Patrick Mahomes!  Her most recent pastimes she enjoyed were watching TV (classic movies, game shows, MeTv, news, and PBS), listening to John Denver, reading, playing cards, being outdoors, bird watching, and visiting with friends and family. She loved the activities at Beautiful Savior, especially the church service, exercise class, parties, and arts and crafts.

Marilyn was raised in the Catholic Church. She helped start and was active in Community One, a service/family-oriented Christian fellowship, in the 1970s. She was an active member of the Unity Church from the late 1980s to around 2010. She regularly attended Chapel Oaks Seventh-day Adventist Church from 2015 to 2018, and the Lutheran service at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Home.

Marilyn is survived by her sister, Beverly LaMartina, and brother, Victor Burton (Winnie); sons Stephen Beck (Michelle) and Kevin Beck; daughters Luanne Cummings (Brian) and Mary Clare Janke (Walde); nine grandchildren: Jason, Matthew and Andrew Beck; Daniel Beck (Jenny); Clare Elste (Bob); Cory Giffin and Kayla Giffin; and Jewel Janke-Yoakum (Andy Yoakum) and Jeremy Janke (Brooklynn); sister-in-law Loretta Thompson; brother-in-law Bernard Beck; 10 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Marilyn Louise (Ann Virginia :-) Burton-Beck was a beautiful person who loved her family and God. She had a great sense of humor, strove to have a positive word and happy greeting for everyone around her, and was grateful every day to Jesus for all her blessings. She expressed her thanks to those around her for their love and care, as well. She will be greatly missed!Many thanks to everyone at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Home for all the love and care they gave Marilyn for the last few years of her life, and to Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care, especially Rindy, and Kaitlyn Heiling.

A celebration of Marilyn's life will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, at Chapel Oaks Seventh-day Adventist Church, 6245 Monticello St., Shawnee, KS 66226.

In lieu of flowers, monetary gifts may be sent to the Activities Department at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Home, 1003 S. Cedar, Belton, MO 64012.