Marilyn Maxine Workman

Marilyn Maxine Lewis Workman, 91, formerly of Iowa City, Iowa, passed away peacefully at home in North Fort Myers on February 5, 2026. She was a kind, intelligent, and generous woman and will be dearly missed by both family and friends.

Although she started her life in the tiny northwest Iowa town of Terril, Marilyn was an adventurer and traveled all over the world. In addition to sight-seeing trips both at home and abroad, she spent six years living in Germany, a year living in Belgium, and several months each in both New Zealand and Kyrgyzstan. She loved music and the arts and was an accomplished vocalist as a young woman. Wherever she happened to be, she never passed up an opportunity to visit a local theater or museum or to attend an art fair or musical production. She loved to entertain and was an outstanding cook. You really did not want to miss an invitation to dinner at Marilyn’s house. She also volunteered her time at many community events, was an officer and member of the Lee County Branch of the American Association of University Woman, and served for many years as a volunteer at the polls for the Lee County Supervisor of Elections. Most of all, however, Marilyn was a teacher and lover of books. She held a Master’s degree in education and had the ability to help many a struggling young person learn to read and love learning. She, herself, almost always could be found reading, and usually had two or three books going at any given time.

Marilyn is survived by her daughter, Leslie (Paul) Hickey of Des Moines, Iowa; a son, Mark Workman, his partner Lynne Hendel, of Los Angeles, California; a sister Carol (Ron) Andrews of Tara Woods, Florida; a brother-in-law Burris Workman of Virginia Beach, Virginia; a granddaughter, Cate Helmuth; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Brooke, her infant son, and her brothers, Robert and Jerry.

A memorial service will be held on February 28, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Tara Woods Community clubhouse in North Fort Myers, Florida. Memorial services will also be held in Iowa City, Iowa, at a later date.

In lieu of memorial contributions, please celebrate Marilyn by reading a good book, taking a friend out to lunch, or helping someone in need. It would make her proud.