Marolyn Pimentel Reid

Marolyn Pimentel Reid of Diamond Bar, California died at her residence on July 29, 2018. She was 80 years old.

Born in Stockton, California and raised in Tracy, California, she was the daughter of the late Manuel and Elizabeth Pimentel.

In addition to her parents, Marolyn was predeceased by her sister, Janice Pimentel Davis. Survivors include her husband, Stephen Reid; her children, Craig Seyb and Ronald (Grace Burton) Seyb; her brother, John (Lila Mora) Pimentel; her grandson, Steven Nakamura Seyb; her brother-in-law, William Davis; and her nephews and niece, William (Constance) Davis, Jr., Thomas (Judy) Davis, John Michael Davis, and Mary Beth (Edward) Stephens.

Marolyn graduated from Tracy High School, where she was an accomplished cheerleader. After high school, she went on to earn an education degree and a teaching credential from UC Santa Barbara. Marolyn taught elementary school in the Walnut Valley Unified School District for over 40 years. Her husband and sons knew that any trip to a public place would move at a painfully slow pace because Marolyn invariably encountered one or more of her approximately 1200 former students and 100 former student teachers, who would waylay her to tell her how she had affected them in indelibly positive ways. Marolyn continued to substitute teach after she retired. She also found time to work at J.Jill, where she helped numerous woman find their signature style, and to serve as a docent at the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.

Marolyn's loving nature and effervescent personality caused people to gravitate to her, and anyone who came into her orbit immediately became her friend. Her friendships were intimate and eternal. She continued to the end of her life to nurture friendships with people from Tracy, her college years, and her teaching career. She was a proud member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society that honors outstanding women educators. Her profound interest in history and other cultures prompted her to travel extensively in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. She loved and devoured books, movies, theater, dance, popular music, and opera. Her favorite spot was Laguna Beach, where she walked, swam, and frolicked with her friends and her family until the end of her life.

Marolyn's radiant spirit will continue, as her favorite Emily Dickinson poem put it, "to perch in the soul of those who remain behind," where it will "sing the tune without the words [that] never stops at all."

A memorial service to honor and remember Marolyn will take place on Sunday, August 19 at 11:00 AM at Via Verde Country Club, 1400 Avenida Entrada, San Dimas, California.


In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made either to the American Breast Cancer Foundation at www.abcf.org/donate or to DonorsChoose.org, a charitable organization that allows donors to support classroom projects devised by public school teachers.