Marilyn Lenore Howard was born on April 18, 1939, in Mackay, Idaho.

[4][5] In 1960, Howard became a history and language arts teacher in Lewiston, Idaho.

In 1988, she became the principal of the West Park Elementary School in Moscow, Idaho.

[8] On January 29, 2002, she announced that she would seek reelection and won in the general election after defeating Republican nominee Tom Luna.

[12] During her tenure she and Governor Dirk Kempthorne attempted to create a position in the state Department of Education to oversee the education of Native American students, but the Idaho Legislature voted against it.