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Marilyn Ruth “Penny” Diener-Schroeder

Obituary

Mrs. Marilyn Ruth “Penny” Diener Schroeder, age 82, passed to her eternal rest on Thursday, May 5, 2022. She was the oldest daughter of Herman and Ruth Diener. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Oren W. Schroeder. Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Penny was a voracious reader and hard worker who used that drive to complete a Bachelor of Arts from Capital University and a Master’s in Library Science from The University of Michigan. Penny and Oren were nomads who spent time living all across the country including Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Maine, Illinois, and Texas. She worked for university and law libraries including University of Texas Law Library, Northwestern Law, Georgetown Law and retired in 2013 from Bowdoin College. In 2013, Penny and Oren retired to Dallas Texas to enjoy being near their daughter and her family and the sunshine. Penny is survived by her husband, her daughter Karyn (Barry) Meyer and their children Jacob and Adam of Dallas TX and her son Marc (Susan) Schroeder and their children Lucas and Natalie of Marvin, North Carolina. Penny is also survived by her siblings; Joellyn (Lloyd) Kinzer of Reston, Va, Nancy Diener of Reston VA and Thomas (Nancy) Diener of Duluth, MN and their children and grandchildren. For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Aria Funeral Home and Crematory of Dallas cared for the family of Mrs. Schroeder.

    Barry Meyer, MD
    11 May 2022
    11:18am

    Mom, you are well loved and you will be missed! Thank you for welcoming me into the family and loving me as a son. I send sincere condolences to Dad and the rest of the family.
    Love,
    Barry

    Heather Schroeder Mullen
    11 May 2022
    2:35pm

    Smart, witty, sharp, stylish, unafraid. This is how I remember Aunt Penny. She always encouraged and supported me and my career. And I followed her career with interest. I’d like to share a few memories. I adored how she embodied the modern working woman in the 1970’s, always wearing stylish pantsuits and big earrings, like Mary Tyler Moore. She had a sense of humor about decorating, as seen in her choice of bathroom wallpaper in Rockville, Md featuring four walls worth of google-eyed cartoon characters.
    Our families enjoyed camping together in the summers. Penny did it all, always stylishly dressed with hair and makeup done. One time the camping ground flooded and we escaped in Penny’s brother’s canoe.
    When I first moved to Chicago, I lived with Penny and Oren while she worked at Northwestern. She used to meet me for lunch downtown and we had good talks. She always made me feel like she was my biggest fan. I’ll miss her.

    Karyn Meyer
    12 May 2022
    11:17am

    Thank you, Heather, for your kind words and bringing back wonderful memories. That wallpaper in the bathroom was hysterical . Mom really did adore you and loved following your career as well
    Fondly,
    Karyn

    Cathy & George D'Alessandro
    13 May 2022
    9:43am

    Oren, Karyn, Mark and family,

    I worked for Penny for many years at Bowdoin and my husband and I enjoyed many visits with Penny and Oren over the years including one visit in Texas. Penny will be missed by her many friends in Brunswick and the Bowdoin community.

    Bonnie Juergens
    13 May 2022
    2:24pm

    Penny and I have been fast friends since 1984 and I shall miss her bright smile and insightful commentary for the rest of my days. We worked together at TAMU and then later at Amigos Library Services, sharing much laughter and only occasional tears. I admired her professional knowledge and commitment and constantly learned from her. We traveled together and laughed together and shared our deepest secrets, the result of friendship based on mutual admiration and trust. I send my condolences to the family Penny loved so much. Thank you for sharing her with me.

    Lucy Cunningham
    22 Aug 2022
    11:23am

    Dear Oren,
    My heartfelt sympathy goes out to you and your family in your loss of Penny’s brilliant light in your daily lives. She was my supervisor at Bowdoin College Library during her whole career there, and I admired her compassionate professionalism as well as her spunk and sense of humor. But I’m forever grateful for her personal support above and beyond the call of duty, for my unusual employee requests: altered work schedules to allow for taking classes toward a Master of Divinity at Bangor Theological Seminary, and pursuing a year’s leave of absence in applying to work at the Baha’i World Center Library in Haifa. You both lived your life ministry by taking an interest in my personal passions–attending my early attempt at organizing an interfaith gathering on the Bowdoin campus in 2000, and by attending my wedding in 2011. I will never forget your and Penny’s kindness and devotion, to each other, and in service to others. May God comfort and support all of you in your grief.

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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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