From Marta Gillen, Sr. Executive Assistant , DVC President’s Office
We are sad to report that Marlan Shanks, retired drama instructor, passed away last week. Marlan’s wife, Deborah Dahl Shanks, provided the following message about her husband.
This is to let you know that Marlan Shanks passed away on Thursday morning, August 5.
Marlan graduated from Mt. Diablo High School in 1958, then after one year at DVC as a Freshman, got his BA from San Francisco State University and MFA from UC Davis in 1972. During the years between SFSU and UCD, he worked at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival as well as taught High School in Oregon for a couple of years. He first came to the district at Los Medanos in 1973 for a short time before transferring to Diablo Valley College as part of the union’s first grievance process. He was a charter member of the United Faculty (the gang of 13) and served as Drama Department Chair, Fine Arts Division Chair, Staff Development Coordinator, and a DVC Faculty Senator for numerous years. He retired in 2003 and then served 5 years as a Professor Emeritus until 2008.
As Marlan loved the water and co-owned a 65′ John Alden ketch with Ken Hein for a while, we will be having a Celtic Celebration of Life on a Hornblower ship in the next couple of months. This event is limited in scope and is by invitation only, so there will not be a public memorial service.
Deborah Dahl Shanks
Thank you to Deborah and Marta for sharing this information about Marlan.
Nancy Zink
DVCRA Liaison