BELMONT — Mercy Sister Marilyn Helene King passed away on April 8, 2026, at Sacred Heart Convent-Marian Center, aged 86.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, April 17, 2026, in the Cardinal Gibbons Chapel of Sacred Heart Convent, 103 Mercy Dr. in Belmont. The Mass will be livestreamed: https://www.facebook.com/events/711297872058595.
Immediately after the Mass, the Sisters will provide lunch, followed by a graveside service at 1:30 p.m. at Belmont Abbey Cemetery.
Marilyn Helene King was born in 1940 to Francis and Helene Johnson King in San Francisco. She grew up at Holy Name Parish and graduated from Mercy High School, where she came to know the Sisters of Mercy. She entered the community in Burlingame, California, in 1957 and professed her vows in 1960.
Before teaching math and religion at Mercy High Schools, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco College for Women. Sister Marilyn was particularly interested in theology and was sent to St. Paul University, University of Ottawa, and the Graduate Theological Union, where she completed a doctorate degree in 1975. These studies equipped her to teach high school, college and adult religious education.
She was later drawn to a contemplative lifestyle and spent a year at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, then moved to the Bardstown, Kentucky, area and ministered in local parishes and for the Archdiocese of Louisville. In 2014, she and Genevieve Durcan, OSCO, founded The Laura in Lebanon, Kentucky, as a contemplative residence where others could come for retreat and reflection. Accomplished in many avenues of education, she was proud of her time in Kentucky.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her two younger brothers, Jesuit Father Frank King and Rich King.
She is survived by her nephew Richard King and a loving community, the Sisters of Mercy.
Prayerful thoughts and heartfelt condolences may be left at www.mcleanfuneral.com.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, c/o Donations, 101 Mercy Dr., Belmont, N.C. 28012.
McLean Funeral Directors of Belmont is in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald