Marilyn Breckenridge McCann

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Marilyn Breckenridge McCann, 86, of Amarillo, Texas, and Pagosa Springs, passed away on Tuesday, June 20, in Durango after a brief illness.

Marilyn was born in Carnegie, Okla. on Feb. 7, 1931, to Floyd and Alice Breckenridge. A celebration of her life and reception will be held on July 2 at 2 p.m. at the family home in Pagosa Springs. Graveside services will be held on a later date at Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque, N.M.

She had a picturesque childhood, grew up and attended school in Albuquerque and Roswell. Marilyn met USAF pilot John W. McCann at Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, and married. The couple was married for 54 years. She was a homemaker and proud mother of three children: John, Kim and Denise. She was an avid bridge player and volunteer and enjoyed playing the stock market and contributing to a number of conservative causes including Fellowship of Christian Jews and Wounded Warriors. She was named Volunteer of the Year at Luke AFB Family Services in the 1960s. While her children were in school, she was active in PTA at Paramount Terrace, Bonham Jr. High and Amarillo High School and chaperoned several Fellowship of Christian Athletes ski trips. Later, she was a docent at the Amarillo Museum of Art, the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center in Pagosa Springs and served on the Front Porch Ministry at Polk St. United Methodist Church, where she was an active member of the Homebuilders Sunday School Class. She was a member of the Arredondo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and served the organization in a number of roles, including Regent. Marilyn was a proud member of the National Rifle Association and enjoyed entertaining, sewing, cooking, interior decorating and gardening and continued to do her own yard work until her death. Those who knew her described her as a spunky, energizer bunny with a quick wit and great sense of humor.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John; her parents; and brother Floyd Scott Breckenridge. Survivors include John W. McCann Jr. DDS and wife Maureen, of Vancleave, Miss.; Kim Hebrard and husband Mike, of Clackamas, Ore.; and Denise Blanchard and husband Hank, of Amarillo, Texas; five grandchildren: Robert H. Blanchard and wife Whitney, of Houston; Andy Hebrard and wife Lindsay, of Clackamas; Katie and Allison McCann, of Vancleave; and Thomas Blanchard, of Houston; three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family suggests memorials to the building fund at Polk St. UMC in Amarillo or the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs.