Marilyn Clare Zenner Prince was a remarkable woman, wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. With a big smile and warm heart, she touched many lives through her deep faith, caring spirit and abundance of hospitality.
Marilyn died on Aug. 12 after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in June. She was 79.
Born Aug. 23, 1939, in Portland, Oregon, Marilyn attended All Saints, the neighborhood Catholic school and parish where her family was active for 50 years. As a child, she loved spending summers with her family at the Oregon Coast. She graduated from Holy Child Academy in 1957. Her childhood friends remained friends for life.
Marilyn graduated from Gonzaga University in 1961. The same year, she married Jim Prince, whom she met at Gonzaga; they celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary in July. They settled in Jim’s hometown of Oroville, Washington, where Marilyn created a fulfilling family and professional life. She contributed to a thriving family business, Prince’s Center, where she worked for three decades. She shared her many gifts by helping others through involvement in her churches and communities. In her later years, Marilyn enjoyed traveling, genealogy research, and spending time with loved ones at the family’s Seattle home and their beach refuge in Gearhart, Oregon.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, George Sr. and Juliette “Peetsie” Zenner; baby sister, Joanne and brother, George. She will be fondly remembered by her husband, Jim; daughters, Julie Prince Hilger (Kurt), Amy Biggs (Bill), Jennifer West (Kevin) and Elizabeth Vowles (Brett), as well as by eight grandchildren, Delaney Green, Emily and Beth Biggs, Sophie and Madeline West and Samantha, Patricia and Tony Vowles. She is also survived by her siblings, Anne Marie Harrington, Carole Vranizan, Jim Zenner and Mary Beth O’Donnell and their families.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, August 23 at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Oroville.
Donations may be made in her memory to the American Cancer Society, 1212 N Washington St., Ste. 325, Spokane, WA 99201 or Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, PO Box 2253, Spokane, WA, 99210-2253.
Bergh Funeral Service & Crematory is in care of arrangements.