Marlys E. Paulsen, 80, Dickinson, died peacefully on Friday, April 11, 2008, at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck. Funeral services for Marlys are at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dickinson, with the Rev. Steven Tangen officiating. Interment will be at the Dickinson Cemetery. Visitation is from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, with a prayer service at 7 p.m.. Visitation continues one hour prior to services at the church on Wednesday.
Marlys Swanson was born September 27, 1927, at Steele, ND, to Ernest and Elva (Hatfield) Swanson. Her father was employed by the Northern Pacific railroad (now, Burlington Northern) and the family was transferred to Sims and Taylor, ND, then to Bozeman, MT. In 1942, the family returned to North Dakota, to Dickinson. Marlys was graduated from Dickinson High School in 1945 and Dickinson State College (DSU) in 1950. She did further graduate work at the University of Minnesota.
Following graduation, Marlys taught high school two years at Scobey, MT and six years at Dawson County High School in Glendive, MT. On June 7, 1958, she married Gordon Paulsen at St. John Lutheran in Dickinson. Since then, she and her husband have lived in Dickinson. Marlys served nineteen years as lecturer in the business department at Dickinson State University, retiring in 1983.
Marlys was the mother of two daughters, Leota Lee (Roger) Pearson, of Minneapolis, MN and Sara Jayne (Michael) Binstock, of Dickinson.
Mrs. Paulsen is a past President of Chapter B, P.E.O; 1975 Worthy Matron of Golden Rule Chapter No. 17, Order of the Eastern Star and a 1977 ND Grand Martha, Order of the Eastern Star; past president of Past Matron, Dickinson; past president of Iota Chapter Delta Kappa Gamma, and Round Table Study Club. She has been a member of Slope Area Retired Teachers, Alpha Sigma Alpha Alumnae Chapter, and St. Luke’s Service League. She has been a long-time member of St. John Lutheran and held several offices in her church circle.
Following retirement, she remained active in clubs and volunteer groups. She enjoyed traveling, bridge, reading, and had a hobby of collecting recipes, trying most of them. She spent winters in Tucson, AZ.
In addition to her daughters, Leota Lee (Roger) and Sara Jayne (Michael), who survive her, she has one sister, Leota Mae Swanson, of Bloomington, MN, who survives in her death. She is also survived by several cousins and three granddaughters, Emi Leigh Binstock, Brianna Lee Pearson, and Kailey Ann Pearson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon, on March 4, 1999.
Special memorial interests of Marlys are the Gordon and Marlys Paulsen Scholarship established at Dickinson State University and the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Trust Fund.
