Marilyn Monroe passed away on Saturday, April 23, 2016. Visitation will be held at 10 o’clock this morning (April 27) at Greer’s Mortuary Chapel in Winslow, followed by a graveside service at 11 a.m. at Desert View Cemetery in Winslow.
She was born Oct. 25, 1925, to Nona and Navajo Billy Thompson in Tolani Lake, where she lived most of her life. Although she said she only went to the third grade, she read and sang nursery rhymes to her grand and great-grandchildren.
Marilyn married Sidney Monroe in June 1940, and out of that union came seven children. Due to employment with Santa Fe, Sidney moved them to the little community of Dennison, near the railroad tracks in 1953. For further employment with Santa Fe, they moved to Winslow in 1960, where they lived until retirement in 1973 when they returned to their homestead in Tolani Lake.
She was an avid fan of the Diamondbacks and the Dallas Cowboys, and loved to watch NBA games on TV. She also watched the soap operas Days of Our Lives and Another World from 1960 until it was cancelled. She loved to sew, and not only made her own clothes, but was creative, making clothes pin bags, quilts and denim coverings out of old pants. She also enjoyed doing puzzles and working in her word search book. She wove beautiful rugs all her life, making sure her children had rugs with their last names written on them hanging in their home.
Survivors include two sons, Eddie (Laverne) Monroe of Tolani Lake and Tony Monroe of Morris, Okla.; two daughters, Dolly Monroe and Marilyn (Earl) Dixon, both of Tolani Lake; and 12 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren, all very loving and caring. She is also survived by a special granddaughter, Sandy (Darren) Nez, who she helped raised and also took care of her in her late years with her children Devon (Tanisha) Nez, Laci Nez (Leander Tso), Demitrius Nez and Draden Nez. She is survived by two brothers, Dennis Thompson of Bostic, N.C., and Cornelius (Fannie) Thompson of Window Rock; three sisters, Patricia James of Seligman, Florence Nez of Winslow and Lula Mae Riggs of Tolani Lake.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Sidney Monroe; two daughters, Irene Monroe and Annie J. Barton; and one great-grand Nali, Hailey A. Barton.
Sidney made sure she lived a loving and blessed life without being in need of anything. We will continue her traditional Tachinii teachings for generations to come.
