Marianne Mildred Gerberding Guinn

Marianne Guinn was born on October 18th, 1930 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the only daughter of Mildred and Richard Gerberding. The family of six boys and one girl lived in a two bedroom house on Gerard Street near Hennepin Ave. Marianne, as the only girl, got one of the bedrooms while all her brothers slept in the attic during winter and the front porch during the warm summers. All seven children attended West High School in Minneapolis. Growing up with six brothers, Marianne became a strong woman early on!

The Lutheran church was an important part of the family life as Marianne's father was a Lutheran minister and bishop of the ULC synod. Marianne attended Thiel College, a Lutheran school, in Greenville, PA where her parents met. She made the most of her four years there, where she met life-long friends, worked in the cafeteria, embraced the sorority life, was homecoming queen and obtained a degree in English. This is also where she met Tom Guinn, her husband of 68 years. Tom and Marianne were married in Greenville, PA on December 28, 1951, while Marianne was a senior. She finished her degree while Tom went off to Minneapolis to attend seminary. After re-uniting in Minneapolis, the first of Marianne's four children, Andrea, was born in 1953.

As the wife of a parish pastor, Marianne moved with her family when Tom established new congregations in Pleasant Hills, PA, and Blaine, MN. She was a supportive pastor's wife, although, protective of the family's life outside the parish community. Two sons, Rick and David, were born in PA and a second daughter, Beth, was born in MN. While raising four children, she taught Sunday school, vacation bible school, and sang in the church choir. After moving to Arvada, Colorado, and to help pay college expenses for the children, Marianne obtained her teaching certificate from the University of Colorado. She was the director of the North Area Jefferson County Parent Education / Pre-School program for nearly 20 years.

Family was always important to Marianne. Her 10 grandchildren kept her busy with family gatherings, family vacations, school events, band and choir concerts and little league games. She enjoyed them all.

Marianne was a faithful volunteer with several organizations, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains (refugee re-settlement program), Project Angel Heart, the Catholic Workers Soup Kitchen and St. John's Hospice. Her family could always count on Marianne to recite / recall nursery rhymes and poems, remember names of old friends, provide difficult answers to crosswords, and play a level-headed game of Bridge.

Her husband, Tom, preceded her in death three months ago. Marianne is survived by her children, Andrea (Bob) Mooney, Rick (Angela) Guinn, Dave (Kim) Guinn, and Beth (Steve) Knutson-Gustafson. She is also missed by her 10 grandchildren, Lisa Simmelink, Rachael Draper, Marianne Mooney, Sam Guinn, Ben Guinn, Andy Guinn, Katy Guinn, Sarah Vaughn, Connor Knutson and Dayton Knutson, and her 5 great-grandchildren, Baylee, Bryant, Anders, Hayzen, and Isabella.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains, Project Angel Heart, Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Wheat Ridge, CO) or a charity of your choice.

Because of the current COVID-19 Pandemic, funeral services for Marianne have been postponed. Please continue to check this online obituary as the information will be updated as soon as restrictions are lifted.

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