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Shannon Dunn
Marylou “M’Lou” Peterson Dunn, 85
It is with overwhelming sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Marylou Dunn of Long Beach, CA.
She is survived by her brother, R. Craig Peterson (and his daughters, Holly and Ashley), her daughter Shannon, son Christopher (his wife Stella and son Jackson) and son Kevin. She had a plethora of friends who adored her and people who met her immediately felt her warmth and loving aura.
Marylou spent her life in Musical Theatre. She started performing on stage at the age of 9 and continued performing throughout her life at the Long Beach Civic Light Opera, Long Beach Playhouse and was actively involved with Musical Theatre West up until the last few months. She also wrote and composed musicals, which became her passion later in life. Her musical, “Gangway” was her first foray into writing music and debuted at the Community Playhouse in Long Beach in 1962.
Recently, “Ruthie and Me” received myriad accolades and was her favorite project as she said, “the music just flowed into me as I was writing.” A BMI-published songwriter, many of her songs have been performed throughout the world. Her song, “Soaring Together” was one her most popular and is frequently used in wedding ceremonies. Her daughter directed the music video of her country song, “Beginner Sinner” and wrote a script so that her pop-song, “A California Christmas” could be integrated into the story. Marylou’s favorite song she composed was “Grandmother’s Eyes,” which she hoped Josh Grobin would sing one day.
She also spent many years as a high school chorale teacher and left an indelible impression on many of her students over the years. When she retired, during the last performance by her students, she said, “I looked each one in the eye to let them know I ‘saw’ them.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the auditorium. If you saw the movie, “Mr. Holland’s Opus” – it mirrored her life. She loved her students and helping young talent learn about musical theatre.
She was very proud of her degree from Scripps College in Claremont, CA and received her Masters Degree from the University of Michigan.
A celebration of Marylou’s life will be held sometime in 2022 in the Long Beach area.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Marylou’s name to one of the following which were important to her: Habitat for Humanity, Musical Theatre West and Doctors Without Borders.
