Marilyn Fairholm

Marilyn Mae Fairholm, 84, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at the Iowa Methodist Hospital in West Des Moines.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. with family present from 5:00 to 7:00 at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, Winterset Chapel. Funeral Service will take place at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at the Winterset First United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in the Winterset Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Winterset Alumni Association. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.caldwellparrish.com.

Marilyn was born on September 16, 1937, to Clem and Vera (Hardisty) Mitchell in Madison County, Iowa. She graduated from Winterset High School in 1955, and continued on at Creston Junior College and Drake University obtaining a degree in education. She married the love of her life, Marvin Fairholm on November 22, 1961, in Winterset. They enjoyed 43 years of marriage together until Marvin’s passing in 2004. Marilyn continued her family legacy of teaching by dedicating a total of 42 years to the career, primarily at Winterset School District.

Family was the most important aspect of Marilyn’s life. She never missed an event and always made sure her family knew how much she loved them. Marilyn was passionate about teaching and loved all her students and kept in contact with them throughout her life. She also enjoyed spending time with her Red Hat friends, other retired teachers, organizing the class reunions, and avidly watched The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin; her parents; brothers-in-law, Richard Fairholm and Wayne Kile; and sister-in-law, Phyllis Mitchell.

Marilyn is survived by her two children, Martin (Kristin) Fairholm and Marilee Burk; four grandchildren, Kealah (Jason) Berry, Kaitlyn (Andrew) Orey, Kylee Burk, and Madalyn Fairholm; five great-grandchildren with one more on the way; six granddogs (Bentley her favorite), siblings, Lorraine Kile, Maurice Mitchell Sr., and Bill (Sharon) Mitchell; sister-in-law, Luella Fairholm; along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.