Marilyn Jean Luotto
Nov. 6, 1934-April 2, 2025
Mountain View, California

Our beautiful and much beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and dear friend passed peacefully in her sleep on April 2, 2025, at the age of 90. Marilyn was born on November 6, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, to Walter and Marjorie Lindahl. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Mundelein College and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University. After moving to California in 1967 with her husband James and their five children, Marilyn earned a second master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling at the University of Santa Clara.

Marilyn worked for 25 years at the Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, California, where she taught English and Psychology and acted as a counselor. In 2002, Marilyn was awarded the St. Madeleine Sophie Award, one of the most prestigious honors given within the Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton community, for her extraordinary and exemplary service.

Marilyn had many dear friends with whom she traveled and shared walks, plays, books, and mutual support. A member of the community at Companions on the Journey, Marilyn, together with her son Matt, produced two videos for COJ: a Eucharistic Prayer for the Cosmos and a Eucharistic Prayer for Children.

Marilyn loved gardening and all elements of nature. An avid camper and backpacker, Marilyn frequented Yosemite National Park, on one occasion losing her supper to a mother bear and two cubs. Marilyn considered Tuolumne Meadows, in particular, heaven on earth.

Above all, Marilyn’s love for her family was boundless and eternal. She is dearly missed by her five children, John, Ann, Matt, Mary (and husband Charles), and Dan (and wife Lori), her nine grandchildren, Kristina, Katie, Elizabeth (and their mother Julie), Alyssa, Joshua, Ariel, Dylan, Jack, and Gemma, and her great-grandson Beckham.

From Harold and the Purple Crayon to When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, you taught us to color outside the lines and to wear red hats. You lived life richly, with a sense of adventure, and inspired us to see or hear something remarkable every day. You told us there are things we cannot reach, but we can reach out to them. Now, it is you; you join the Wind and God, and we reach out to you.

Tags: teacher/educator