Marilyn Ruth Reitz Sanderlin, beloved Mother and Wife, went to be with Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior, January 31, 2024. She loved the Lord with all of her heart and lived a loving, Godly life. Services will be at Donnelly's Colonial Funeral Home, 606 West Airport Freeway, Irving, TX 75062. The viewing will be held Wednesday, February 14th from 5:00 PM til 8:00 PM and the services will be Thursday February 15th at 11:00 AM followed by interment at the DFW National Cemetery at 1:15 pm. Chaplain Rick Smith will be officiating. Pallbearers will be Frances Reynolds, Ed Gonzalez, John David Reynolds, Dwayne Vest, Kevin Oldfield and Michael Shultz. A poem or two written by Viola Reitz and read by Jackie Guillory. Marilyn is preceded in death by her husband Wayne and daughter-in-law Dawn. She is survived by her sons Mark and Dan; daughter-in-law Wendy, granddaughter Cerys; grandson Daylan; beloved sisters Donna Warner and Nancy Matoba; nieces Julie Villareal, Melinda Heath, Jackie Guillory, Diane Stempinski, Jackie Warner, and Andrea Warner; and nephews Eric Webb, Eugene Webb, Wade Warner, Kurt Warner, Mike Sanderlin, Pete Sanderlin, and Danny Sanderlin. Marilyn was born, the 2nd of three daughters, March 11, 1938 in Ada, Oklahoma to her beloved parents, William Andrew "Buck" Reitz and Viola Hall Reitz of Perryton, TX. When WWII broke out they moved to San Antonio, then Texarkana, and ultimately returned to Perryton, TX after the War. In high school, Marilyn loved speech, drama, journalism, and gymnastics. Marilyn graduated college from West Texas State in Canyon, TX. There she met her lifelong friend, Alveeta Reeves Corbitt. As Buck was a mechanic, Marilyn had a car, a rarity in those days. Marilyn and Alveeta would frequently travel to Amarillo for burgers and fries. After graduation, Marilyn moved to Los Angeles where she taught for a year and then moved to the Washington Metropolitan Area where she met her husband Wayne. Marilyn and Wayne were married in Perryton, TX October 6th, 1962. They eventually moved to Irving, TX in 1965 and remained in Irving for the remainder of their lives. They joined MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church where Marilyn taught Sunday School for many years. Marilyn taught 1st grade at John R. Good Elementary for 25+ years and ESL at W.T. Hanes Elementary for two years. In 1967 their son Mark was born followed by Dan in 1972. Dan had some disabilities. Marilyn used her teaching peers to find out what she needed to do to help Dan work through those and then worked with him relentlessly and also made sure that he got the outside help that he needed to overcome his disabilities. Marilyn loved her family and found great joy in helping them in any way that she could. Marilyn loved to cook, can, and bake. She would bake themed cakes for birthdays, the finest apricot cobblers for the boys, pecan pies for Wayne, and sheath cakes just because. She and her Mother would can vegetables every summer, and she fixed dinner for her family every night. She also loved arts and crafts and "helped" with the boy's school projects. And she loved to sew, she made clothes for herself and her family and would embroider shirts for her boys, some were quite ornate, she also made wedding garters for any friend who was getting married and made wedding garters for her daughter-in-laws. She tried her hand at stained glass for awhile as well. Dan began wrestling in Jr. High and Marilyn was extremely involved in his wrestling, until his high school graduation in 1990. She absolutely loved attending the wrestling matches and traveled with Dan across the nation to many of his matches. She and Wayne liked to stay busy. After Dan's graduation, Marilyn and Wayne traveled whenever possible. They especially loved the Hill Country, New Mexico and Colorado. And frequently went to Oklahoma City and Wichita, KS to visit her aunt, uncle and cousin. They had moved their Church membership to Colonial Baptist Church where Marilyn again was teaching Sunday School, they also led the major renovation of a space in a strip center for the Church. During this time Marilyn was also caring for her mother who had moved to a retirement village in Irving. Dan and Wendy's daughter Cerys was born in 2001 and Marilyn jumped at the chance to watch her granddaughter Cerys and took amazing care of her. She used her teaching skills to help Cerys get back on track after a difficult first grade year. Later, Marilyn and Wayne left Colonial Baptist Church and moved on to Meadowbrook Baptist Church. She did however have a few faults, that must be mentioned, Apricot trees were common in her hometown of Perryton and when visiting during "apricot season" she would take long walks through town with a sack, sneaking an apricot here and an apricot there until she had enough for a cobbler. She would also drive from Irving to Weatherford and raid Mark's garden, always calling him during her escape to let him know that she had "come by and harvested for him", unfortunately, after these raids she would always forget to leave any of the bounty at Mark's. Mom was always ready and willing to lend a hand, no matter what the cost was to herself. When her daughter-in-law Dawn was nearing her end, Marilyn selflessly drove from Irving to Weatherford and back home again, a 120 mile round trip, every day to care for Dawn for several months. Shortly after Wayne's passing in 2016, Marilyn moved to The Remington at Valley Ranch and rejoined MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church. Later she moved to The Harvest at Roanoke. Her niece Julie visited her often at The Harvest and frequently brought her a milkshake or some other yummy treat. Her cousin Richard came by as often as he could, as did Wendy's mother Charlotte. Other friends and relatives came by when they could. Both of her boys were there when their dear Mother passed. This is a brief synopsis of Marilyn's life. It would be impossible to capture the many moments of joy that she brought to others, doing cartwheels and backflips in the backyard, teaching her boys to read, jumping on the trampoline, helping the boys fish, working the brackets at Dan's wrestling meets, making sure the boys were doing well in school, teaching the boys to drive, hosting her nieces every summer, driving the kids to the movies, taking the boys to learn to swim, and not to forget her many walks with her beloved dogs Sir, Sonny, Jake and Cookie. As well as many other cherished memories she leaves behind. Photo Album Visitation Wednesday, February 14, 2024 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Colonial Funeral Home of Irving Chapel 606 W. Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062 Funeral Service Thursday, February 15, 2024 11:00 AM Colonial Funeral Home of Irving Chapel 606 W. Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062