Marilyn Black Ehlers

Marilyn Black Ehlers passed away peacefully on January 11, 2026 in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. She was 92 years of age. She was born in Blanding, Utah on April 6, 1933 and was the sixth child and youngest daughter of Justin Abinadi and Margaret Blanche Cox Black.

Marilyn was very musical throughout her life and learned how to play the piano from a very young age. Her talents were recognized early when she began playing the organ in church meetings as a youth. In high school, she learned how to play the trumpet, loved to sing, and starred in her high school musical.

Marilyn lived in Blanding throughout her childhood. She was raised as a farm girl and was taught the value of hard work by her parents. After she graduated from San Juan High School, she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and met and married Arnold Jack Ehlers. Marilyn was a very capable, efficient, and hard working secretary, bookkeeper, and office manager. She managed the essentials of Jack’s architectural firm for many years while bearing and rearing five children.

Marilyn was an excellent cook and loved to serve home cooked meals to her family and friends. She was an avid reader and engendered her love of reading in her children. On long road trips, she read books to her family to keep them occupied and help to pass the time, as well as to keep Jack awake while driving. Marilyn worked hard to keep a manicured yard and grow and harvest the bounty from her large garden. She was known for working the irrigation turn in her large yard during the wee hours of the morning throughout the summers. She loved sewing and needlework and created many dresses, shirts and outfits for herself, her husband, and her children. Marilyn also learned to play the guitar and often sang folk songs to her children. She loved to write and tell stories of her youth and the sweet moments she spent learning to work with her father.

Marilyn obtained her pilot’s license while living in Salt Lake City, later moved to southern Utah, and became a Coxswain in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, operating on Lake Powell.

Marilyn was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved her Heavenly Father and her Savior, Jesus Christ and sought to follow them. She tried to live a life of integrity and Christian values. She enjoyed her church callings, including working with the youth as well as faithfully serving as the ward organist throughout her lifetime. She played the instrument beautifully, and her talent as an accomplished organist blessed the lives of all who listened to her play.

Marilyn was the grandmother to 26 and great grandmother to 37.

Preceded in death by: Arnold Jack Ehlers

Survived by her children: Arnold Bret Ehlers (Heidi), Jackie Lyn Timothy, Patti Ann Wynn (Dave), Shanna Lee Louder (Jeff), Eric Tal Ehlers (Julianne).

Marilyn was honored during a private graveside service and buried next to her eternal companion in Loa, Utah on Friday, January 16, 2026 under the care of Springer Turner Funeral Homes of Richfield and Salina.