A Tribute to Marlyne Sexton

Posted on June 23, 2025

By Roberta Knickerbocker Jaggers, President

With a grateful heart, The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation celebrates the legacy of longtime friend and contributor Marlyne Sexton, who died on June 11, 2025.

Our board and staff offer condolences to Marlyne’s daughters, Nicole Sexton and Tracy Copeland, as well as to David Gulley and everyone at Sexton Companies.

Supporting opportunities for children to learn, grow, and thrive – all while having fun – marked Marlyne’s 30+ years of library giving. Thanks to her longtime support of the Summer Reading Program, hundreds of thousands of children experienced the joy of reading and the satisfaction of earning rewards for achieving reading goals.

Often, Marlyne’s generous investments were heartfelt tributes to those she loved. For her late husband, Joe, she named the Sexton East Reading Room at Central Library and donated the painting over the fireplace. She ensured author Philip Gulley, brother of longtime colleague David Gulley, had a robust cheering section the year he received the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award by sponsoring two tables. She helped secure the legacy of two close friends and Library Foundation leaders – inaugural president Danny R. Dean and former board member Zeff A. Weiss – by contributing to endowment funds in their names.

Although Marlyne never sought recognition, we took great pride in counting her among our top supporters. In 2010, she accepted the Luminary Award, our highest honor for a donor. In 2022, we worked with Tracy and Nicole on biographical signage outlining Marlyne’s business and philanthropic contributions. You can find her plaque, along with Joe’s, near the Atrium entrance to the Sexton East Reading Room.

We look forward to welcoming Marlyne’s many friends and loved ones to Central Library for her celebration of life on Friday, June 27. We are grateful to be named a recipient of memorial contributions, extending Marlyne’s legacy of enriching lives through lifelong learning. Supporters may give online or by check payable to The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation mailed to PO Box 6134, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6134.

Marlyne will always be part of the Library Foundation family. Our hearts are with her many loved ones during this difficult time.