Dr. Marilyn Geiger

August 27, 1931 - December 23, 2020

Dr. Marilyn L. Geiger, 89, Topeka, Kansas, passed away on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. She was born in 1931 to George and Lena Yost Geiger in Salina, Kansas. Dr. Geiger lived on a farm three miles Southeast of Brookville, Kansas, until 1942, when they moved to Salina. She had lived in Topeka since 1956. Dr. Geiger graduated from Salina High School in 1948 and received an Associate in Arts degree in piano from Colorado Woman’s College in Denver in 1950. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in history from Kansas State University in 1952 and 1958, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Kansas in 1979. Dr. Geiger taught in public schools for ten years at Sylvan Grove High School and Highland Park High School in Topeka. She taught history at Washburn University from 1962 to 2000, becoming a Professor of History in 1984. Dr. Geiger was the department chair from 1981 to 1991. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she advised all history majors going into teaching and supervised their student-teaching experiences. Dr. Geiger also originated the History Day competition at Washburn University. Dr. Geiger was a founding member of St. Augustine’s of Canterbury Anglican Church and served on its vestry for many years as Clerk, Treasurer, Junior Warden, and Senior Warden. Honoraries in which she had been chosen included Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Kappa Phi, Nonoso, Alpha Delta Kappa, La Tritonne, and Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa. Dr. Geiger was active in professional organizations such as the Kansas Council for the Social Studies and the Kansas History Teacher’s Association, serving as past president of both organizations. She volunteered for many years at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Dr. Geiger is survived by two brother, Charles of Daytona Beach, Florida, and Larry of Salina, Kansas; two nieces; and dear friend, Karen Moore. Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 30, 2020, at St. Augustine’s of Canterbury Anglican Church, 2140 SW Hodges Road, Topeka, KS 66614, with Father Venson Valenciano officiating. Graveside service will be 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 30, 2020, in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Brookville, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Augustine’s of Canterbury Anglican Church, the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, or to the Marilyn Geiger Scholarship in History at Washburn University, sent in care of Kevin Brennan Family Funeral Home, 2801 SW Urish Road, Topeka, KS 66614.