Marilyn Joanne Fike
Marilyn Joanne Bundy was a girl of seven when she and her family moved to Seattle’s Mt. Baker neighborhood. There she befriended a new Sunday school playmate, Dick Fike. Inseparable from that time to this, she and Dick were 10 when they had their first date, dressing up and going downtown to see a movie. As students at Whitman College, they married at 20.
Within a decade the couple had four children: Rick, Jef, Melissa and Marta — and love to spare. They’d need it, as well as Marilyn’s remarkable calm and presence of mind when it came to caring for and supporting their youngest, born with serious medical issues that required numerous surgeries and the exuberant energy of a mother fiercely intent on her daughter’s survival.
Marta survived, and thrived, allowing Marilyn time to volunteer with The March of Dimes, distinguishing herself as a capable leader who later traveled the U.S. to train other volunteers.
Fun was foremost in the Fike family. Marilyn and Dick bought a Cessna 172, a four-seat craft that — while their children were still young and lightweight — allowed them to take to the sky together. Marilyn became as competent a navigator as she was a pilot, flying as far south as Acapulco and as far east as New Orleans, with frequent family excursions in the western states. Dick built a cabin on Lopez Island and this sanctuary in the San Juans became a treasured place for the Fikes, remaining Marilyn’s favorite destination throughout her lifetime.
Once her children became young adults, Marilyn turned her attention to a job at The Bullitt Foundation, ultimately becoming Director of Administration, Assistant to the President and bookkeeper for over $100 million in assets. But the fun and games weren’t over.
A 40th wedding anniversary gift to the couple from their children kick-started a multitude of “second honeymoons,” and from then on, when time and money allowed, Marilyn and Dick would travel the world. She thrived on their adventures in France (her favorite), Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Austria, Greece and Switzerland.
An extraordinary woman, Marilyn was dearly loved by many, and when at age 79 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she proved strong and resolute throughout her treatment, moving with Dick to Aljoya Thornton Place, a continuing care retirement community. There, the community truly came together. And when her cancer recently reappeared and no further treatment was appropriate, she said, “Oh bother! This will be inconvenient for so many!” She was always thinking of others.
Marilyn, a lifelong Seattle resident was born June 3, 1933 and passed at home on March 12, 2014, a few months after celebrating her 60th wedding anniversary. She has six surviving siblings (Emory, John, Mac, Jim, Steve and Jennifer Bundy) in addition to her husband (Dick) and four children Rick (Carla), Jef, Melissa (Mary Lou) and Marta (Virginia) and two grandsons, Joe and Jake. A Memorial Service will be held at the Center for Spiritual Living, 5801 Sand Point Way NE, on April 5, 2014 at 10:00 AM.
The family welcomes expressions of love in the form of gifts to Odyssey Gentiva Hospice Foundation (3350 Riverwood Pkwy, #1400, Atlanta, GA 30339), the Center for Spiritual Living or your favorite charity.
