Obituary: Marlys Fuller

Marlys Mae Simons Fuller died at home on Aug. 7, 2024, surrounded by family. She was born May 28, 1930, to Edwin "Wes" Wesley and Pauline Standal Simons in Butte, Montana.

Her family moved from Montana back to Minnesota when she was very young. They lived at a ranger station outside of Cotton until she finished the seventh grade. She was confirmed in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Canyon.

Her family then moved to Cloquet. Marlys graduated from Cloquet High School and the University of Minnesota Duluth, with a degree in home economics, and then worked as an extension agent up to her wedding, at which time she was required by the county to resign. Because married and engaged women were not allowed to be employed, she kept her engagement secret from her employers.

On June 20, 1953, Marlys married Glenn A. Fuller in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Cloquet. In 1956 they moved to Minneapolis. In 1960, the house Marlys and Glenn built in Golden Valley was completed, and the family, which included children Brynne, Bonnie and Glenn, moved in. Beckie was born a few years later.

Marlys was a strong advocate for her family. She was active in encouraging her school district and the Minnesota High School League to add girls' sports to extracurricular activities. She believed her three daughters deserved the same opportunities as her son had. She had to be watchful so her son wouldn't get caught up in a backlash from boys' coaches who didn't want to share the sports budget.

In 1971, she helped convince the Robbinsdale district to have an intramural girls swim season. When a swim coach couldn't be found, Marlys found one.

Marlys also closely followed and attended the court case in Judge Miles Lord's courtroom in 1972, where Toni St. Pierre and Peggy Brenden sued for the right to compete on boys' teams. Fortunately, they won, and girls' high school sports started up fairly quickly in Minnesota under Title IX.

Marlys worked tirelessly in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, spending many hours making calls to promote its national passage. She never dreamed it would fail and that many of the rights and protections she worked to win over the years would be lost or threatened for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She and the family took many camping trips around the country and to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. She encouraged her teen daughters to take BWCA trips, when very few girls traveled in the remote country without adult leaders or guides. Marlys and Glenn traveled the world together. They enjoyed visiting relatives in Norway, walking the Great Wall of China, and riding camels in Morocco and elephants in India. They loved the history in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Prague, Budapest, Costa Rica, Thailand and Hong Kong. They made many wonderful trips to Mexico, including when they drove from Minneapolis to Cancun and back. A favorite trip was visiting daughter Brynne and family in Australia. They also made many trips around the United States and Canada to watch their children and grandchildren compete in sporting events. They came home from their trips with many stories about the wonderful people they met.

Marlys was an active member of the Minneapolis branch of the American Association of University Women. She joined in 1974 and was a dedicated member and advocate for the rest of her life. She enjoyed the Monday meetings at the beautiful AAUW house. She looked forward to hearing from the presenters and learning more about current issues. She valued the friendships she formed and strengthened through interesting discussions each week.

Marlys is survived by her husband of 71 years, Glenn A. Fuller; her children, Brynne Ault, Bonnie (Dave) Fuller-Kask, Glenn (Peggy Brown) Fuller ll, and Beckie (Wallace) Alexander; grandchildren, Sarah (Kyle), Jenna, Jason (Katie), Bria (Sean), Ian, Noah, Per and Nico; and great-grandchildren, Piper, Claire, Tuuli and Otto.

She is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Paul and Gaylord (Kathy); and son-in-law, Barry Ault.

A gathering celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 with the location and time to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please support the Minneapolis AAUW, minneapolis-mn.aauw.net/donate, or donate to the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.

Pine Knot News, Sept. 6, 2024