Marilyn Jeanette (Martin) Lucht, age 84, of Overland Park, Kansas, died peacefully on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, in Lenexa, Kansas. Born in Harper, Kansas, on August 24, 1941, she grew up moving frequently while her father served in the U.S. Army before the family settled back in Kansas.
Education and early career
Marilyn graduated from Shawnee Mission High School, where early scholarships sparked a lifelong love of words and music. She began college at Baker University and later transferred to Wichita State University, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education.
Family and professional life
On July 30, 1964, she married Richard Wilson Lucht in Fairway, Kansas. After a brief stint teaching public‑school music in Bloomington, Indiana, the couple moved to Greenville, North Carolina, where Marilyn shifted to editorial work at Indiana University and later served for more than three decades at East Carolina University. As Assistant to the Dean for Communications in the School of Music, she expanded media coverage, produced radio broadcasts of concerts, organized Friends of the School of Music events, and edited the “Tones” alumni newsletter for over 20 years.
Later years and community service
Following her retirement and the end of her marriage, Marilyn spent six years in Portland, Maine, where she helped found the Pondtown Poets and edited its literary journal. In 2006 she returned to Kansas to be near family, continuing to share her warmth and joy with friends and neighbors.
Marilyn’s devotion to children was a hallmark of her life. She nurtured her own daughters, Jennifer of Salem, Massachusetts, and Shelley of Lenexa, Kansas, and extended that care worldwide through correspondence with children supported by ChildFund International. Her piano students benefited from her gentle spirit and her ability to inspire curiosity and wonder.
Faith, travel and personal reflections
A lifelong learner, Marilyn traveled abroad for retreats, studied Buddhism and Qigong in China, and embraced a broad view of spirituality. She once wrote, “So many things I have known and held in my heart as nourishment. All the dates and external references of goals, degrees, awards fall so short to the music of my life.”
She is survived by a large, loving family, including cousins, nieces, nephews and many close friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ChildFund International, Turning Point at the University of Kansas Health System, or the Parkinson’s Foundation Heartland Chapter.
“I sing because I’m happy — I sing because I’m free.”
Service details will be announced at a future date. The obituary was published by Amos Family Funeral Home.
Original reporting: Johnson County Post (Overland Park) — read the source article.
