Marilyn Louise Duck

Marilyn Louise Duck came into the world on Halloween in 1955. She quietly passed from it on Saturday, September 14th, one month shy of her 64th birthday, after a life dedicated to her family, numerous friends across America and the journalism profession she loved. Born to Bob and Betty Duck on October 31, 1955, Marilyn grew up in south Tulsa, graduating from Tulsa Memorial High School in 1973. While in high school, she was active in Pep Club, the National Honor Society, the Yearbook staff and Senior Board. She enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 1973, in the heat of the Watergate scandal, with an eye toward becoming a journalist. During her OU stint, Marilyn began her reporting and writing career as a major staff writer for the student newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily. At The Daily, she steadily rose through the ranks, becoming managing editor. In that role, she assigned and edited news stories from a bevy of fledgling journalists. She served as The Daily's summer editor in 1977 writing editorials and overseeing daily production of the award-winning student paper. After graduation, she began her professional career at the now-defunct Oklahoma City Times, the afternoon sister paper to The (Daily) Oklahoman. As a young, professional newspaperwoman, she worked at the Times' Norman Bureau covering a wide variety of topics - from Norman city government and OU, to city life in the state's largest university community. After a short period, Marilyn was promoted to the Times' main office in downtown Oklahoma City where she was assigned to cover the Oklahoma City Public Schools. Ultimately, Duck rose to be an assistant city editor at The Times, directing a score of professional journalists covering the Oklahoma City metro area, state and nation. After an award-winning career at the Times, the late Windsor Ridenour, then city editor of The Tulsa Tribune, convinced her to bring her talents back to Tulsa, her hometown. At the Tribune, she covered the Oklahoma Corporation Commission - the state agency governing utilities, telephone companies and all regulatory aspects of the state's oil and natural gas industries. She also served in the Tribune's Washington D.C. bureau. Later at The Tribune, Duck, known to many of her journalism friends as "Mercurial" Marilyn Duck, or "Merc" for short, was later promoted to the editorial department at the paper. In that role, she was responsible for writing editorials on a wide variety of local, state and national topics. Following her successful tenure at The Tribune, Marilyn's career took her to the West Coast where she worked at The Santa Rosa Press Democrat as an editorial writer. After more than a decade in that role, she returned to Tulsa to care for her ailing mother. Upon her return to Tulsa, she worked as writer and editor of the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic Magazine, overseeing the Eastern Oklahoma Diocese publication's conversion from a newspaper to a magazine. She retired from the diocese in 2011. At the student paper and throughout her career, she was a sustaining member of The Outlaw Journalist Caucus, an unofficial gaggle of student journalists originally formed at OU that still operates at newspapers around the country. Marilyn frequently was a recipient of numerous reporting and editing awards from state and national journalism organizations. Her colleagues knew her as a cautious, meticulous reporter and editor. She possessed a keen, intuitive eye. She strove, above all else, to be fair and accurate all the while digging deep into stories and often challenging sources and those she interviewed in order to get to the truth for her readers. As a consummate professional, she made all who knew and worked with her believe in themselves with encouraging words, solid editing and insight. She was the truest of friends, always with a kind voice, an understanding word and a beautiful soul. She will never be forgotten, but she will forever be missed. Marilyn is survived by her cousin, Steve Fields and his family; several aunts, uncles and cousins; and scores of friends and journalists around the country - and, of course, her beloved dog, Ivy. Private Family Serv., Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233

Marilyn Louise Duck

October 31, 1955 - September 15, 2019