Marianne Reese

Marianne is the founder and leader… indeed, the heart and soul… of LifeLong Learning-San Marcos.

After retiring in 2006 from a career devoted to education—as a public school science teacher, curriculum director, superintendent, and Texas State professor and department chair—Marianne quickly recognized the limited offerings available for adult community members to regularly engage with their peers in a relaxing and fun learning environment.

In response, Marianne launched LifeLong Learning-San Marcos (LLL-smtx.org) in 2014 to provide accessible no-cost/low-cost courses, lectures, and other learning experiences for San Marcos-area older adults to explore, question, learn, and engage with others.

Consistent with her strong belief in the value of ‘forever learning’, Marianne accepted a 2021 invitation from KZSM, San Marcos’s community radio station, to host a monthly show focusing on issues of interest to older adults. SeniorCentric focused on health and wellness, community organizations, and fascinating facts.

During the 2023 summer hiatus, Marianne realized that so much of what she shared on SeniorCentric addressed topics of interest to all humans in San Marcos. She now hosts Human Interest on the first Thursday of every month. Human Interest hosts guests and shares conversations that may spark compassion, empathy, motivation, laughter, fear, love, and perhaps even anger… all part of the human condition and each of human interest. Local experts and community organizations are featured with the goal of offering a broader context around topics relevant to our community.

Marianne is an expert at creating new organizations and helping existing organizations strengthen their footing. She co-founded the Texas State Retired Faculty and Staff Association, and served in leadership roles on the San Marcos Senior Citizen Advisory Board and the Price Center Board. By drafting bylaws, creating committees, and establishing operating policies and procedures, Marianne helped build the organizational infrastructure necessary for success.

Marianne was born in West Texas and has mostly lived in San Marcos since 1992. She and her husband Wayne spent time traveling to Illinois and Florida before settling in San Marcos for good in 2014. Marianne is a talented artist and enjoys spending time with family and friends, including her sister Becky, LLL-smtx’s art historian, who moved to San Marcos in 2014. Marianne truly loves learning and can spend hours reading articles and exploring the internet to understand the science of how things work. How perfect that she started LifeLong Learning for all of us to enjoy!