Marilyn E. Lamb

Marilyn Asplin Lamb died peacefully surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 in Chestertown Maryland. She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 3, 1927 to Albert Mauritz Asplin and Rose Marie Feiker Asplin. They and her older sister, Kathleen, filled their home with music and good humor, nurturing Marilyn to become the kind and generous person that she was. After receiving her undergraduate degree from University of Minnesota, specializing in theater, she relocated to Maryland. Upon settling in Annapolis, she was employed by the Annapolis Girl Scouts as the Waterfront Director at Camp Scout Woodland. Here she met and later married architect Charles E. Lamb, whose mother was the county Girl Scout Director. Marilyn then went on to found the original Annapolis Children’s Theater and remained its director for several years while beginning a family. A devoted wife and mother, she raised four children and fostered many nieces, nephews and grandchildren. In the early 1960s the family moved to Baltimore and Marilyn began teaching kindergarten at the Church of the Redeemer. As her children grew she went on to pursue a distinguished career in Early Childhood Education, earning a masters degree in 1974 at Towson State University. Her thesis explored the artistic expression of the young child's early developmental process in her presentation titled, "Scribbles to Baseline". From there she stayed on at Towson to become the founding director of the Council Day Care Center for Demonstration and Training and was the Demonstration Teacher at the Aliza Brandwine Parent Infant Center. These experimental pilot programs, developed with her friend and colleague Aliza Brandwine, provided that students of the Teacher Education Program understand the parent-child relationship and that parents learn about the stages of their child’s development. Marilyn believed in fostering respect for children’s individual learning styles and encouraged the integration of children with disabilities into mainstream learning environments. Upon moving back to Annapolis, in 1984, Marilyn continued to be an active advocate for children serving as an early childhood program evaluator for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and as a volunteer for the Annapolis Children’s Museum and the Annapolis YWCA. Marilyn’s pleasurable pursuits included art, theater and music. She was also an accomplished sailor and spent many years navigating the Chesapeake Bay and Caribbean with her husband. She loved the simple pleasures of gardening and cooking, family gatherings, and she was fond of her many pets. More recently, in Chestertown, she was a part of the choir at St Paul’s Episcopal Church and was a participant in the singing groups at Heron Point. Marilyn was preceded in death by her mother, father and sister. She is survived by her husband, Charles, her four children, Lisa Anderson (Albert), Karin Lamb (Jeff Witbrod), Peter Lamb and Regina Lamb (Steve Hurd), and her seven grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. All will miss her kindness and generosity, her songs, her humor, and her positive, indelible spirit. A memorial service will be held on Saturday August 7th at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church , http://stpaulkent.org near Chestertown, MD at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers please sent contributions to Chesapeake Children’s Museum, 25 Silaponna Rd., Annapolis, MD 21403 or www.theccm.org. Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, 130 Speer Rd. Chestertown, MD 21620. Online condolences may be made at www.fhnfuneralhome.com

Marilyn E. Lamb

December 3, 1927 - July 20, 2010