Marilyn Keefer, 77, of Orlando, Florida passed away peacefully in her home on Monday, March 4, 2024. Marilyn was born on January 21, 1947, in Defiance, Ohio.
She is the daughter of the late Vernon Merchant and Dorothy (Beatty) Merchant and was pre-deceased by her former husband Bruce (Doc) Keefer and their daughter, Christy Keefer.
A member of the Defiance High School class of 1965, she went on to serve for many years in the United States Army and Army Reserve, retiring finally in 2007 as a Staff Sergeant. In civilian life she built upon the medical training she had received in the Army and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Central Florida.
This led to a career in hospital medical labs, culminating with her 2020 retirement from Orlando Health, where she was a medical technologist. Courtesy of the U.S. Army, she lived at times in Germany, Korea, Colorado Springs, Fort Knox, and San Antonio, before finally settling in Orlando to be nearer to her parents, who lived their final years in Titusville. Marilyn was an avid gardener, even more so after her retirement, and was always working to perfect the landscape of her yard.
She loved dogs, especially dachshunds, and had many through the years. All her life she collected coins, including her time overseas, and was forever examining her pocket change looking at dates and mint marks. She liked Coors beer, country music, and poker. She was a cantankerous and outspoken supporter of the Democratic party, and although she was a physically small person, she was feisty, stubborn, and could be fierce.
Marilyn is survived by her brother, William Merchant of Pinckney, MI, as well as her nephews, Michael Merchant (and his wife Jennie) of Hartland, MI, and David Merchant (and his wife Valyn Dall), of Ann Arbor, MI. They will all miss her deeply.