Marvin Lee Kitchen

Marvin Lee Kitchen, 83 years old, passed away surrounded by family on Tuesday,
February 15, 2022, after a brief battle with melanoma.
Marv was born in Rochester, Michigan on June 3, 1938, to Henry and Elizabeth
Kitchen. He was the oldest of four children. His siblings are Marlin, Gary, and
Marjorie. Growing up, he enjoyed his paper route, playing baseball and
basketball, and academics. He was his high school class president at Rochester
High School.

Marv attended Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan where he earned a Civil
Engineering degree, and he went on to work in Granby, Colorado. It was in the
Rocky Mountains where he met the love of his life, Alice Ann, at a party through
mutual friends, and they were married on June 26, 1965.
Within 5 years, Marv and Alice had three children, Leanne, Tim and Julie; then the
Kitchens moved to Jackson, Michigan. Marv personally designed and built the
family home, planted and tended to a gigantic garden, and obtained his private
pilot license. Marv enjoyed being back in Michigan and closer to relatives,
summers were spent at the lake, the kid’s baseball and softball games; winter
memories include sledding and ice skating. Marv’s career took him to Oklahoma
City, OK where he worked for CH Guernsey until he retired in 2008. While he
lived in Oklahoma City, he and Alice were members of Church of the Servant
where they participated in Sunday school classes.

Marvin had many titles. He was a devoted son and brother, a loyal husband,
wonderful father, loving grandfather, caring friend, and hardworking employee.
He made fast friends with those he met, giving unique nicknames, (“dinka danka,”
“babbaboo”, “pooter roo” etc) staying in touch through letters, and creating a
yearly calendar with pictures and birthdays of family. He was known to relatives
as Uncle Bud and enjoyed planning events, including an annual family corn roast
and high school class reunions.

Marv was about as wholesome as you can get. He loved The Kingston Trio, The
New Christy Minstrels, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton; his favorite movies were
The Apple Dumpling Gang and Hidden Figures, and he loved The Mary Tyler
Moore Show and Cheers. He very rarely swore, paid income taxes as soon as he
could, donated blood at every opportunity, loved seeing local plays and visiting
the local public library. He also enjoyed baking and working in the yard. He
loved being industrious and was blessed to have a career he really enjoyed ---- he
was obsessed with dams, water systems and bridges; and his work took him on
many adventures, including to Iran, Japan, Hawaii, Germany, and all around the
United States. His ultimate luxury was sitting in the family room receiving one of
Alice’s legendary back scratches while eating a bowl of butter pecan ice cream.
In retirement, Marv liked to keep busy traveling and visiting relatives and national
parks. He enjoyed working on home improvement projects, taking photos,
exercising, flying his Cessna, visiting his son, Tim, in New York and playing with his
7 grandchildren. His grandchildren are Maridy (21), Cody (21), Nathan (20), Alex
(18), Sarah (18), Ryan (16), and Timothy (15). The grandchildren cherish many
memories of road trips, visiting museums, playing cards, and swimming. Marvin
leaves a legacy of being and doing good, valuing family and staying in touch with
friends.

Service Information:
The family will be holding a memorial service at Church of the Servant, 14343
North MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73142, on Tuesday, February 22, at
2:00pm.

Donations and Flower request:
The family request that In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice in Tulsa or
The American Melanoma Foundation.