Marjorie Doyen

Marjorie Ruth (Kling) Doyen, 85, of Bartlesville, Ok. passed away Thursday, January 9, 2020.  Marj was born to the late Henry and Marie (Clark) Kling.  Marj was the youngest of 6 children and spent the first part of her childhood on a farm outside of Howard, Kansas.  She attended a one room school, where she was combined with the class above her, effectively skipping the 2nd grade.  She graduated from Howard High School before turning 17 and started college at Emporia State Teachers College shortly after turning 17.  She obtained an Education degree, with emphasis on business education.

Her first teaching job was in Mulvane, Kansas where she met her husband Mark through a blind date arranged by Mark's brother, who taught with Marj.  Mark and Marj were married on Marj's 22nd birthday and celebrated 63 years of marriage on their last anniversary.  Marj later obtained a Masters degree in Learning Disabilities.  She taught in this area for many years, striving to adapt her teaching approach to ensure each student could learn in a manner most effective for them.  Marj retired from teaching in 1994 from Kingman High School.  Mark and Marj, over their teaching careers, lived in Circleville, Barnes, Effingham, Cuba, and Norwich, Kansas.  They moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 2011.

Marj enjoyed playing card games and was an avid bridge player.  She played internet bridge and formed some close friendships with players around the world that she met online.  Marj was also an avid reader and you could often find her with her nose stuck in a book.  She was a history buff and liked reading books related to historical events.  In part due to all of Mark’s coaching activities, she became an avid sports fan.  She would cheer on the local teams, the Kansas State Wildcats, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.  She was also very musically inclined and had a lovely singing voice.  She sang at many weddings and funerals, sang or led various church choirs over the years, was church pianist at Barnes and also played the organ.

She is survived by her husband, Mark, of the home, her daughter Marla (Wayne) Benyshek of Bartlesville, Ok., her son Timothy (Terri) Doyen of Rocklin, California, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.  She is also survived by sisters-in-law Peggy Doyen, Katherine Doyen, Anne Kling, and Elizabeth Kling.  She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Harold Kling, sister Alice Schwartzkopf, brother Loren Kling, sister Lavina Harper, and brother Verne Kling.  She will be forever remembered and missed by her family and friends.

Memorial donations in her name can be made to the Norwich Methodist Church, 623 E. Burns, Norwich, Ks.  67118 or can be sent to Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home, 710 Southeast Dewey, Bartlesville, Ok.  74003.