Marilyn L. Cargile, age 75, passed away in the early morning hours of May 7, 2023, after a courageous battle with cancer with her loving family by her side.

Marilyn L. Cargile was the product of an extraordinary family. She was born on February 5, 1948, in Cleveland, OH to Shirley and Ernestine Bonner. The eldest of six children and the only girl, Marilyn has always been a natural leader and organizer, a go-getter yet humble, loving but never intimidated.

Marilyn grew up in the Quincy/Central neighborhood area of Cleveland. She attended John Burroughs Elementary, Kennard Jr. High, and East Technical High School, where her future life partner Jerome Cargile also went, although they didn’t officially meet until later. During her high school years, she worked as a teacher assistant and guidance office assistant and was part of the Youth Corps Employment program. After graduating in 1966, she worked as a clerical assistant for the U.S. Department of Defense before attending Central State University in Wilberforce, OH. It was here, on move-in day that she formally met Jerome through her friendship with his sister Valeria. In 1969, she was inducted into the History Honorary, Phi Alpha Theta. During the school year she worked in the Department of History as a secretary. In 1970, Marilyn proudly became the first to graduate from college in her immediate family, majoring in History and minoring in Sociology and receiving a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree. In 1977, she went on to receive her Master of Education Degree in Educational Administration. Additionally, she attended Cleveland-Marshall School of Law from 1998-1999.

Marilyn began her educational career and long tenure in the Cleveland Public School System as a student teacher at East High School in the spring semester of 1970. In the fall of 1970, she obtained her first full-time teaching assignment as a Social Studies teacher at Harry E. Davis Jr. High, where she taught for six years. After the Reed vs. Rhodes court decision that resulted in the reassignment of students and staff for desegregation purposes, Marilyn was among the first group of teachers in the district to be transferred to another school for “racial balance.” She was assigned to A.B. Hart Jr. High School where she continued her successful teaching for three years. One of her students at A.B. Hart, Tracy Chapman, would later go on to become a 6x Platinum Grammy award winning artist.

Marilyn received invaluable training as an Administrative Intern at A.B. Hart and Lincoln Jr. High Schools during the 1979-80 school year. She was hired as an Assistant Principal at Myron T. Herrick Jr. High for the 1980-81 school year before becoming an Assistant Principal at Carl F. Shuler Intermediate School from 1981-85. Marilyn’s ultimate goal was always to become a principal. In order to achieve that, she was told that she needed experience inside of a high school. She worked for two years at James F. Rhodes High School. After this experience, she was sought after from several suburban school districts, but ultimately felt that her place was in the inner city where she received her education and where she felt that she could make more of an impact on young lives. In 1987, she was hired as the Principal at Carl F. Shuler Intermediate, a position she would hold for the next twenty years.

From 2007-2009, she served in various roles that included: Campus Administrator at Martin Luther King Jr. Career Campus; Principal at Lincoln-West High School; and the Manager of K-8 Staffing in the Division of Human Resources for Cleveland Metropolitan School District. In 2010, she decided to call it a career and retire. This lasted for all of one day, before she decided to return and work for another five years. This time was spent at Glenville High School and at John Adams High School, before she finally retired in 2015.

During her tenure in education, Marilyn received several honors. She was one of seventeen principals in the district to receive the Phoenix Award for Principals Who Set the Standard for Excellence in 2000. She was selected to participate in the Richard W. Pogue Institute for Educational Leadership and Management “Pogue Fellows Program”, during the 2000-01 school year. In 2002-03 she served as a facilitating principal and mentor for the Assistant Principals’ Leadership Academy and was an active participant in The Middle School Principal’s Institute where she served on the committee that planned the institute’s conference. She also served on several committees to improve student achievement, professional development for principals, and interview teams for new teachers and administrators. Her school was one of the first two schools to be involved with The Rotsky Foundation for Mentors. Marilyn was also a proud and active member of The National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. One of the proudest moments in her career occurred in June 2002, when she was afforded the opportunity to present her father with his high school diploma at a commencement ceremony for World War II Veterans who were drafted out of high school to serve their country.

As passionate and proud as Marilyn was about her educational career and accomplishments, she had triple that passion and pride for her family. She married her college sweetheart Jerome after dating for seven years on August 4th, 1973, at Mount Sinai Baptist Church. Marilyn came from a family full of boys, so it was no surprise that this union produced two boys, Jerome A. and Steven. She was extremely involved in her sons’ lives and activities as they were growing up and beyond. Marilyn and Jerome always made sure to plan a yearly family vacation every summer. She served as a Den Mother for her sons’ Boy Scout Troop and was a parent volunteer for Top Teens of America and The Kudos Club. She loved attending her sons’ various sporting events and other extracurricular activities, always being one of the loudest in the crowd.

Marilyn and Jerome were known for their Kwanzaa celebrations they put on every January 1^st.  This tradition, that started with just a few close family members and blossomed extended family and friends, carried on for 30 years.  If you even attended one, you were better for it. Marilyn also enjoyed visiting and talking to her grandchildren on FaceTime in Houston, texting with the Cargile Crew (Jerome, Jerome A., Steven, Katrina) going on family cruises, taking her sister-in-law trips with Renee, Penny, Tonya and Robin, vacationing with the Browns, reading, enjoying spectator sports, bowling, and watching Law & Order SUV with her husband Jerome.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents Shirley and Ernestine Bonner; brothers Warren and Gary Bonner; in-laws James Cargile, Sandy and Berniece Lewis; and brother-in-law Kendall Lewis. Marilyn is survived by her husband of almost 50 years Jerome; sons, Jerome A. (Katrina) and Steven; grandchildren, Amaya, Ajani and Jackson; brothers Robert (Renee), Laurence, Dale (Tonya); mother-in-law Rosie (James); sisters-in-law Valeria, Penny (Warren), Robin (Gary), Lisa (Kendall); brothers-in-law Gerald (Stella), Sandy, Pete, Chris; nieces and nephews, Brandy (Donnell), Quinn, Eric (deceased), Michael (Juanita), Ashley, Krystal, Karmen, Kendra, Chris Jr. (India), Taylor, Camille, Dale, Colin, Devin, Octavia, Tasha, Ureka; great-nieces and nephews Ebonee, Taniya, Terrell, Kimani, Bella, Amirah, Maleah, Savannah, Lailah, KayCyn; and a collective of other relatives, friends, classmates, coworkers and neighbors.