Marilyn Ellen (Sorby) Gandrud, 84, passed away at Goldpine Homes, Bemidji, on May 31, 2023. Marilyn was born to Alvin and Birdella Sorby on February 17, 1939 in Dawson, Minnesota, where her parents worked for various farmers around that area. Growing up, she enjoyed music, participating in beauty pageants, and was a serious student, graduating valedictorian of her Brooten high school class in 1957. She then gave up a full college scholarship to marry her sweetheart, Peter Gandrud, after he promised that one day she would have her chance to go to college.