Mrs. Marilyn Glover Matthesen

Marilyn Glover Matthesen (age 90) from Kiawah Island, South Carolina, passed away peacefully on February 25th, 2018 in Roswell, Georgia, after a long and adventurous life. By her side were her son and family who live in the area. Marilyn will be remembered as an extremely talented, elegant, fashionable, fun, “out of the box” artistic mom and grandma who was loved by her family. She was not your typical grandma in the sense that she was always “up to date” and aware of everything new. Marilyn was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1927. She attended Gulfport College for Women in Mississippi and then went on to the University of Kansas where she earned her B.A. in Art. At Kansas she was awarded “Outstanding Design Student” in the School of Fine Arts. She continued graduate work at Northwestern University. After graduation she was accepted as a designer for Hallmark Cards where she worked for two years. She also studied with nationally known watercolor artists, and showed her work in many juried shows and galleries. Later in life when she lived on Kiawah Island, she continued with her passion by serving as a commissioned watercolor portrait artist and was involved with the Kiawah Island Art Guild and the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C. She met her husband, Ben, in Denver, Colorado where they were married. They lived in Denver for many years where she found great joy in raising her three sons and being active in her community. In addition, the family also shared many wonderful memories in their second home in Breckenridge. Besides enjoying her family, she also found time to teach art classes for children and to be a member of the Junior League. Following retirement, Marilyn and Ben moved to the beautiful beach of Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where she lived until 2017. Being close to the water was very important to them and the beach held a very special place in their hearts. In addition to her passion for art, she avidly enjoyed golf, swimming, tennis, ballet, yoga, piano, international travel, word puzzles, and reading. On the golf course, she was known as “Mighty Mouse” – small but tough. She was also an accomplished pianist who was especially fond of playing Chopin. She loved all genres of music including jazz, classical, and opera and thoroughly enjoyed attending the ballet. She and her husband traveled internationally with her Opera Club. Marilyn was an insatiable reader to the very end, devouring four or five books every month. She is predeceased by her parents Walter Earl Glover and Mary Louise Pontius Glover, her husband of 55 years Benjamin Langworthy Matthesen, brother John Glover, and son James Alan Matthesen. She is survived by her sister Virginia Glover Kane, sons John C. Matthesen (Marian) of Pleasant Hill, CA, and Thomas S. Matthesen (Rhonda) of Alpharetta, GA, and three grandchildren: Timothy J. Matthesen (Taylor), Alexis B. Matthesen, and Tyler S. Matthesen. A celebration of life memorial service will be held at The Manor Golf and Country Club, Alpharetta, Georgia on March 7th at 1:00 p.m. A reception at a later date will be held at Kiawah Island, SC. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Saint Louis Ballet, or a book may be purchased in her honor from Indigo Books, an independent bookstore on Johns Island, SC.

Mrs. Marilyn Glover Matthesen

September 9, 1927 - February 25, 2018