Published: June 11, 2014
The Sparrow Women's Board of Managers and the Sparrow Volunteer Services Department have named Marilyn Thimmig of DeWitt as the June volunteer of the month.
Thimmig has volunteered for more than 51 years at the St. Lawrence Campus and is one of the original escort volunteers. She is very reliable and has a gentle and quiet way about her.
During her time at Sparrow, she has been a very dedicated and hardworking volunteer on top of raising eight children.
Thimmig says she finds volunteering rewarding because she likes the people she works with, enjoys doing something for others, and serving a need for the Patients' safety and comfort. She has always had a passion for volunteering and has volunteered throughout her life.
A Fort Wayne, Indiana native, Thimmig went to an all-girls college, Mount Mary, in Milwaukee where she acquired a teaching certificate. She met her future husband, Robert, in Milwaukee while he was attending medical school at Marquette University.
While looking for a hospital to do his residency, her husband found St. Lawrence and chose to move to Lansing. Her husband was the reason she starting volunteering at St. Lawrence.
Thimmig started her teaching career in Lansing after being hired by Opal Lewton, the school administrator that the Lewton School in Lansing is named after. She taught kindergarten at Barnes Ave. School until expecting their first child. Her husband, Dr. Robert Thimmig, passed away 15 years ago.
Thimmig enjoys sewing, knitting, puzzles, reading, and of course traveling all over the country to visit her eight children, twenty-four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. For more information about volunteering at Sparrow, visit Sparrow.org/Volunteer.