Angels Camp, CA…Marilyn Joyce Richards February 13, 1939 ~ August 18, 2023 (age 84). On Friday, August 18, 2023, Marilyn passed away at home, peacefully in her sleep. Memorial gathering is planned on Sunday October 1 during the afternoon at the Richards home.

Marilyn was born on February 13, 1939, in Sacramento, California. After graduating from high school in Sacramento, Marilyn attended the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, CA where she studied painting. After raising two children, she earned her AA in Business Administration and began working for California Dept. of Forestry in San Andreas. While there, in addition to her front office work, Marilyn expanded her artistic outreach with CDF artwork at the Frog Jump Calaveras County Fair.

Marilyn was a member of the Arts of Bear Valley and the Golden Palette Art Association, and a participant in the Arts of Bear Valley Summer Shows, and Art in the Park Shows in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Her work is displayed at Art on Main in Murphys. She has also exhibited her art at A Loft Art Gallery in Sonora.

Artist, Gereon Rios of Columbia College, was her teacher and major influence in the restart of her painting practice. Her ethos was to start with excitement and the challenge to incorporate color, composition, and joy into her paintings. She was a resident of Calaveras County for 49 years.

Marilyn is survived by her husband Ross, her children Thaen and Damien, and her brother Robert Valine. Marilyn and Ross were married in 1972, and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year.

In lieu of flowers, gifts of support can be made to Calaveras Arts Council – Artists in Schools program: PO Box 250, 22 North Main St., San Andreas, CA 95249, 209-754- 1774; goldrusharts18@gmail.com.