Obituary - Marilyn Joyce (Drown) Shutter

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Marilyn Shutter

Marilyn J. Shutter, age 55, of Bemidji, MN, died Thursday, November 24, 2005 at North Country Regional Hospital, Bemidji. Interment will be in Aardahl Lutheran Cemetery, Frohn Township, Beltrami County, MN.

Casket bearers will be Dan Shutter, Joe Shutter, Darren Head, David Head, Mike Drown, David Drown, Matt Drown and Andy Drown

Marilyn Joyce Drown was born on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, 1949, in Woonsocket, South Dakota, the first daughter of Reverend Fred and Virginia Drown. As was typical of country ministers, Marilyn's family lived in several small towns in the Dakotas before moving to Minnesota in 1960. Upon arriving in Bemidji, the family made a stop at the Free Methodist Church. Who should be there playing in the churchyard, but a brown-haired boy by the name of Ted Shutter. They quickly formed a friendship, eventually becoming high-school sweethearts. Upon graduation from high school in 1967, Marilyn went to the Twin Cities to attend nursing school, while Ted attended automotive school at Bemidji Vo-Tech. The separation proved to be more than she could bear, and Marilyn quickly returned to Bemidji to be with Ted.

When Ted graduated from Vo-Tech, he left to join the Navy. While stationed in Rhode Island, and awaiting deployment, they decided to get married, and returned to Bemidji for the wedding on November 21, 1968. The couple then returned to Rhode Island, where they lived until the spring when Ted received orders to Puerto Rico where he would serve on a Viet Nam alert battalion.

In February of 1970, the couple returned from the military and purchased a small farm southeast of Bemidji, near the Aardahl Lutheran Church. As the years passed, Marilyn gave birth to three children, Kimberly, Joseph, and Daniel. In 1990, Marilyn's grandson Nicholas was born, and soon came home to the farm to be raised along with the other boys. She encouraged all of her children to participate in 4-H, and through years of projects, meetings, and county fairs, Marilyn gradually became the driving force behind the management of the Beltrami County Fair, and a fixture in the fair office. Marilyn was a proponent of civic-mindedness, and service to the community. The County Fair was certainly a passion for Marilyn, because it was the embodiment of her family, friends, community, and the farm itself. She believed that working in harmony with the land and animals was of inherent value, and was a student/advocate of organic living, renewable resources, sustainable agriculture, and the preservation and conservation of nature.

It would be impossible to talk about Marilyn without talking about music, for the two are synonymous. A gifted musician, Marilyn took quickly to many instruments, but is known mainly for her piano. For years, she was the pianist and Sunday school teacher at the Free Methodist Church in Nymore. She has played for countless weddings, funerals, and other special occasions. Ever the student, her musical interests have taken many directions over the years - from piano, to accordion, to guitar, to dulcimer, to pedal-steel, and most recently to dobro. One of the greatest joys in Marilyn's life for the past year has been playing along with the weekly jam sessions at Pony Lake and with the Lake Itasca Pioneer Farmers. For Marilyn, music was so many things - an expression, an escape, a language when words won't do, a way to teach, but mostly to share. Marilyn understood that music is a gift that we don't deserve, and that those fortunate enough to have it bear a responsibility to share it with others.

That same rare wisdom ran through everything that she did. Marilyn has always been there to provide perspective, to defend the defenseless, and shine light on the dark. It's difficult to escape a conversation with Marilyn without feeling better about a situation, or at least being able to see it differently - for selfishness was simply not tolerated. Although her occupation was managing a medical equipment store, her calling was teaching, and teach she did. Her lessons were trickled in through time, and are with all of us. And though we know, for we have heard, I think that there are a few reminders that Marilyn would like to leave us with:
Love Everyday
Act silly; don't take yourself too seriously
Take care not to say things you can't take back
Play; it's not just for kids
Delight in nature
Learn
Doing what's right is worth it
Intentions are nothing without action
Be thankful for what you have
Love
Forgive

Marilyn is survived by her husband, Ted Shutter, Bemidji, MN; daughter, Kimberly Tollefson, St. Hilaire, MN; three sons, Joseph Shutter, Centennial, CO, Daniel Shutter, Minneapolis, MN and Nick Shutter, Bemidji, MN; one granddaughter, Serenity, four grandsons, Gabriel, Nathaniel, Michael, and Theodore; mother, Virginia Drown, Bemidji and brother David (Lisa-Berg) Drown, Mpls. MN.

She was preceded in death by her father, Frederick and sister, Marlys.

Family prefers memorials to the Beltrami County Fair Association, Bemidji.