Printmaker, art therapist
Marilyn Ann Leonhart, 92, a former resident of Oak Park, died peacefully in her sleep at home in Redmond, Washington, on Jan. 1, 2025. Born and raised in Maywood, she graduated from Proviso Township High School (East) in 1950. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1954 from Illinois Wesleyan University, where she specialized in printmaking. A highlight was spending a college semester studying in Fontainebleau, France. She was a lifelong member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.
Following college, Marilyn worked at Marshall Field’s flagship store on State Street in Chicago as a display designer and as a personal assistant to Homer G. Sharp, then president of Marshall Field’s design division. One of her fondest memories was helping to decorate the famed Christmas tree in the Walnut Room at Field’s State Street store.
While working in Chicago, she met her future husband, Glenn Leonhart. The couple were married in June 1956 at First Congregational Church in Maywood. They moved to Oak Park where they raised their four daughters in their treasured Tallmadge & Watson-designed historic home on Fair Oaks Avenue. The Leonhart family was active for many years at Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park and later at Christ Episcopal Church in River Forest.
While raising her family, Marilyn continued her printmaking and drawing, showing and selling her pieces at local art shows. She also attended graduate school at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago, where she completed a Master of Art Therapy degree. During her graduate studies, she completed an internship at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she worked with pediatric patients who were living with cystic fibrosis.
After 40 years in Oak Park, Marilyn and Glenn moved to Columbus, Indiana, to enjoy retirement in a community also rich in arts and architecture. They later relocated to the Seattle area to be closer to two of their daughters.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, Eleanor and Frank; a sister, Dorothy; a brother, Donald; and her husband, Glenn, who died in 2022. She is survived by her daughters, Anne Grigg (John), Sarah Foley (John), Alice Bartholomew (Brian), and Martha Berg (Eric), as well as 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at 9:30 a.m., Jan. 31, at Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home, 6901 W. Belmont Ave., in Chicago, followed by a funeral service at 10:30 a.m. at the same location.