Marilyn Cristofori Obituary

MARILYN CRISTOFORI Marilyn Cristofori, 83, died November 14, 2023; her daughter and husband by her side. Marilyn dared to dream big. She was a force of nature who would only settle for the best in everything she did. Born to Ernestine Barsocchini (Miller) and Edward Funk on July 10, 1940 in Sacramento, California, she lived in San Francisco in early childhood with her grandparents when her mother fell ill. Grandma Josephine "Nini" Barsocchini introduced Marilyn to opera and the arts and shared a gift for taking center stage with humor and grace. An early Stanford graduate (B.A. Education, 1961) who was active in student government, Marilyn turned down a scholarship to join Harvard Business School's first-ever class of women to move to London and forge a diverse and outstanding career and life journey. Her passion for ballet and modern dance was invigorated in Europe where she took the stage as a professional performer. Dance brought her back to 1970s New England as Rhode Island's Artist in Residence, where she raised her daughter and began her teaching career at Brown University. Moving West, Marilyn inspired multitudes of young dancers at University of California, Chico as a dynamic professor before settling in Hawaii with her husband. She earned an executive MBA to lead Hawaii Arts Alliance from grassroots to thriving nonprofit as CEO, where she brought local and national artists to work across the state and transformed how the education system values the arts. She adoringly raised agility-champion dog Ruffy with husband, Gregg, and produced the definitive archival video documentary, "Hanya Holm, a Dance Pioneer." Marilyn leaves us the gifts of her boundless energy, optimism, and imagination, her love of people and their potential, her belief in the arts, and support of the environment. She is survived by husband (Gregg Lizenbery), daughter (Meija Jacobs), and constant companion (Ruffy Cristofori Lizenbery). Arrangements Provided By: Aloha Mortuary