Marilyn Elaine Van Derbur (born June 16, 1937) is an American author, motivational speaker, and beauty pageant titleholder.

(The lighted cross on Mount Lindo southwest of Denver was built so Van Derbur's grandmother could see her husband's final resting place from her home in Park Hill.

[4]) She attended East High School, graduating in 1955,[5] and the University of Colorado, where she earned a degree in English literature with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1960.

[6] During her sophomore year of college, Van Derbur was nominated to represent Pi Beta Phi in the Miss University of Colorado pageant.

[11] Following a brief marriage in 1961 to former University of Colorado football player Gary Nady, Van Derbur married her high school boyfriend Lawrence "Larry" Atler in 1964.