Marilyn Lea Fuller

Marilyn Lea Ridgley Fuller, 79, died in Atlanta, GA., just a couple months shy of her 80th birthday. She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Fuller, of Atlanta; grandson, Colin O'Shea, of Atlanta; sister-in-law, Jane Ridgley, of Memphis; and nieces Amanda Ridgley, of Memphis and Melissa Biondi, of Philadelphia. She was preceded in death by her mother, Mildred Lockwood, of MO; father, Lyle C. Ridgley, of MO; brother, L. Clark Ridgley, of Dallas; step-mother, Naomi Ridgley McCreary, and step-father, A. Ray McCreary, both of Farmington.

Marilyn Lea's cremains will be interred at Doe Run Memorial Cemetery, in Doe Run, MO. The graveside service will be held Sept. 17th (time to be specified later)

Marilyn Lea was called Marilyn by family and Lea by everybody else. In a time when most women didn't go to college at all, or went to college for their MRS degree, Marilyn Lea was the first woman to graduate (Magna Cum Laude) with a degree in Economics from Purdue University (1958). She excelled both academically and socially, wnd was a member of various organizations, including: * Chi Omega Sorority; * Motar Board Honor Society; * Delta Rho Kappa Science Honor Society; * Theta Sigma Phi National Honor Society; and * Industrial Economics Club.

In addition to all that, she was the Copy Editor for The Debris yearbook in 1958, which was important experience to have, because after working for Proctor & Gamble and TWA Airlines, she ultimately ended up at The National Geographic in Washington, D.C., where she was an assistant editor for the children's edition of the magazine. She met and married a fellow employee of the Geographic and then moved to Atlanta to start a family. She worked as a writer and editor for various companies around Atlanta, eventually ending up with and retiring from Unisys.

Throughout her life, Marilyn Lea was devoted to animals of all kinds, but especially loved Golden Retreivers (her favorite was Duke), and cats. After retirement, she was the backbone of several dog and cat rescue organizations. She opened her home and heart to hundreds of animals over the years, adopting hundreds of them out and keeping a few for herself. She will be remembered for her fearless defense of the downtrodden and neglected, devoting many hours to the care of little old ladies in driving them around, advocating for better housing, and taking them to court if required. She was constantly in motion, not slowing down even during illness or her advancing age.

In cleaning out her little apartment, there was a pristine miniature rose bush prominently in the window. We shall remember that she always loved flowers.

There Will Be No Visitation

Graveside Service : Saturday, 11:00 a.m., Sept. 17, 2006

at : Doe Run Memorial Cemetery - Doe Run, MO.