Obituary of Marilyn Lurene Novak

MARILYN SPEIRS GIBSON NOVAK. Graduated July 17, 2015, from the earth plane after 89 years of life lessons. She was a beautiful, loving spirit and gave of her heart to all. Marilyn was born to James A. Logwood and Lulu Irene ( Lurene) Welsh in Savannah, GA. on July 6, 1926. James Logwood died when Marilyn was very young and the family lost all their money during the depression. Her mother was unable to care for Marilyn and her older brother Jimmy and in desperation, Jimmy and Marilyn were place in an orphanage in Richmond, Virginia. Having essentially given up the rights to her children, Lurene kidnapped the children after three years in the orphanage, and ran away to South Carolina and later Jacksonville, Florida. Marilyn was a beautiful child and always mature beyond her years. At the age of sixteen in 1943, she met and married Donald T. Speirs. Donald was a member of the Civil Air Patrol involved with anti-submarine coastal patrol in Flagler Beach, Florida. Shortly after their marriage, Donald was transferred to Winthrop Beach Army Air Force Air Strip in Massachusetts, assigned to aerial target towing for Naval gunners. While Don was doing that, Marilyn was being trained as a cryptographer's assistant. They subsequently moved to Washington, DC, where Don was employed by the Bureau of Aeronautics Research and Development and Marilyn went to work as a cryptographic clerk at Arlington Hall Station. Her department was responsible for cracking the Japanese code which helped to bring the Pacific war to our favor. Following the war, in 1947, Marilyn gave birth to her first child, Tom, and became a professional dance instructor and a model with Chireen Ross Studio. While modeling, she was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout and was hired to act as the double for Patricia Neal in the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with Michael Rennie. Klaatu Barada Nikto. In 1951, Marilyn gave birth to her second child, Greg. Shortly thereafter, her brother, Jimmy, was killed in a Naval airplane crash and that sparked her lifelong interest in spirituality and a firm belief in life after death. In 1952, she was in the film "The Washington Story". While filming that movie, she was signed with Paramount Studios and was in the movie, "The Greatest Show on Earth" with Jimmy Stewart. Marilyn was a majorette as a girl in Jacksonville and was cast as the baton-twirling leader of the circus parade wearing a fabulous flame costume. During the filming of "The Greatest Show on Earth", she was being groomed by Paramount to become the second lead in an upcoming movie called "The Savage" with Charlton Heston. Unfortunately, she discovered the dirty side of Hollywood. To get ahead she would have had to compromise her morals and leave her family behind and she was not interested in that. She left Paramount. In 1952, Marilyn gave birth to her third child and first daughter, Candy, and settled into being a wife and homemaker. In 1955, the same talent scout that had discovered her, invited her to take part in the filming in Washington of "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell". During the filming of that movie, she caught the eye of Otto Preminger, who wanted her to leave her family and go to California with him. She declined and her movie career was over. In 1958, her second daughter, Holly, was born and in 1962, Donald Speirs died as a result of a lung condition. As a widowed, single mother of four, Marilyn worked at several different restaurants in the evenings to support them. During this time she met a young Marine Corps officer, Robert F. Gibson and they married in 1963. She started her life as a Marine Corps wife with her children in Santa Ana, California, and moved to several other duty stations over the next thirteen years, ending up back in Northern Virginia. By mutual agreement, Marilyn and Bob divorced in 1976. Single again, the boys were gone, but the girls were still living with their mother, so Marilyn went back to work. She became a dance instructor again. She was a sales woman in a clothing store. She managed The Diabetic Store. She became an elder caregiver. And during this time she met and married a Croatian artist, Mladen Novak. The relationship was short lived. Marilyn continued to live together with her daughter, Candy, in several different residences in Northern Virginia until the end of her earth life. She maintained close, loving relationships with all of her children and always enjoyed family gatherings. Over the years, she opened her heart and her home to everybody who came into her circle and made them feel like family too. Marilyn enjoyed creative efforts. She loved home decorating and she was an accomplished painter in oils and acrylics. She always loved music, theater and movies. She loved clothes. She liked to read and she liked to cook. Throughout her life, she always loved pets, including, dogs, cats, chickens, a blue jay, a cotton-tail rabbit named Clancy and an alligator named Sammy. She had an uncanny ability to make big cats at the zoo purr and rub against the bars like a house cat. Marilyn had a strong Christian spirituality which gave her strength during her times of loss and her own illness. Her trust in her creator gave her the assurance of the continuation of life beyond this transition. Her memory will continue in the hearts of all those who knew and loved her. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer that donations be made to Capital Caring Hospice.