Dr. Marilyn Ann (nee Guthrie) Lester, 79, of Elkhorn, passed away on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, following a long journey with dementia.
Born in Chicago on New Year’s Day in 1947, just 48 minutes too late for a 1946 tax deduction, Marilyn was the daughter of Ronald Barker and Marion Charlotte (nee Lenske) Guthrie. She grew up surrounded by extended family, including her great-grandmother and two younger sisters, first in Chicago and later in Prospect Heights, Illinois, where she graduated from high school. Like her mother before her, Marilyn spent every summer at the family’s lake home on Lauderdale Lakes.
On June 1, 1965, the last day of her freshman year at Northern Illinois University, Marilyn married Daniel William Lester. Together, they attended universities in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, and Nebraska as they pursued their degrees and careers in librarianship. In 1972, they compiled the Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789–1970, an extensive reference collection comprising five volumes and 118 reels of microfilm. Their work helped researchers locate nearly two centuries of federal government publications and continues to appear in library research collections today. They also received a research grant for additional work cataloging historical government publications.
Marilyn ultimately earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in Library Media Education from Mankato State University in Minnesota, followed by a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois in 1989.
Long before Google, Marilyn explored how people search for information and how computers could help them find it. Her doctoral dissertation, “Coincidence of User Vocabulary and Library of Congress Subject Headings: Experiments to Improve Subject Access in Academic Library Online Catalogs,” earned the University of Illinois’ 1989 Berner-Nash Memorial Award for an outstanding doctoral dissertation. Her research explored ways to make computerized searches more intuitive, involving keywords, spelling variations, and search terminology. In many ways, she studied the foundations of modern internet searching before most people had ever heard of it.
Her distinguished career in librarianship and higher education spanned more than four decades. She began her professional career in Nebraska before moving to Illinois, where she held several leadership positions at National Louis University, including Dean of Instructional Resources and University Librarian. She later served as Executive Director of the West Suburban Higher Education Consortium, helping educational institutions expand access to learning and emerging technologies. Marilyn’s work also took her beyond the United States, where she consulted with libraries and educational institutions internationally, including Poland and Iraq.
For 16 years, Marilyn taught graduate students at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, retiring as Adjunct Associate Professor in 2012. She would be thrilled to know that her eldest granddaughter, Quinn, now attends Dominican for graduate school in social work.
A lifelong educator, Marilyn shared her knowledge generously with students, colleagues, and fellow librarians. She believed in the importance of learning, asking questions, and helping others discover what they needed to know. Her influence lives on through the many people she taught, mentored, and encouraged throughout her career.
Away from her professional accomplishments, Marilyn found happiness in family, books, animals, travel, and the natural beauty of Lauderdale Lakes. She enjoyed fishing, boating, and spending time with those she loved. The lakes held a special place in her heart, and her family will return a portion of her ashes to those beloved waters.
Marilyn always kept a bowl, a gallon of water, and a leash in her car, just in case she came across a stray animal. She believed in the power of rescue animals — both in rescuing them and in allowing them to rescue her during several chapters of her own life.
Although her marriage to Dan lasted a week shy of ten years, they continued to co-parent Andy and Cinda, often from a distance. Marilyn remained a Lester in both name and family — maintaining the relationships she formed as a teenager for the rest of her life.
Marilyn spent her life helping people find knowledge, opportunity, and connection. Her family hopes those who knew her will remember her with stories, laughter, and the same generosity of spirit she shared with so many.
Marilyn was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Ron and Marion Guthrie. She leaves behind her children, Andy (Jeana Clark) Lester and Cinda (Henri LamBeau) Lester; grandchildren, Quinn Lester, Cooper LamBeau, and Kellar LamBeau; sisters, Betty (Tom) Ross and Nancy (Don) Dwyer; and countless nieces, nephews, and fellow Lester “In-laws and Outlaws.”
A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale, 17 W. Maple Street, Hinsdale, Illinois.
A private family burial will follow on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Elkhorn.
In place of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Marilyn’s memory to the Kettle Moraine Land Trust to help preserve Lauderdale Lakes and its surrounding woodlands, wetlands, and prairies. Donations may be made at www.kmlandtrust.org.
Above all, Marilyn was Dr. Mom, Big Sue, Aunt Marilyn, and Grandma. Her family remembers not only her intelligence and accomplishments (she loved to read her dissertation aloud!) but also the everyday moments (and her dreaded red comb!), traditions, and memories that made her uniquely Marilyn. She would love it if you thought of her and smiled every time you hear Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” or eat a Danish butter cookie from the round blue tin.