Few supporters have a prouder history with Lincoln Park Zoo than Marion Simon. The longest-serving member on the zoo’s Board of Trustees, she’s helped improve Chicago’s free zoo for nearly 50 years.

Howard Morgan of Citicorp, Marion and zoo director Dr. Lester E. Fisher at the dedication of the Sunform sculpture.

An active member of the board’s Marketing and Garden and Sculpture committees, Marion’s impact on the zoo can be seen in everything from the Sunform sculpture that children climb in front of Park Place Café to the aesthetic of the trash cans found throughout zoo grounds (an accomplishment she’s notably proud of).

Dr. Lester E. Fisher and Marion at a zoo event.

Now Marion has shared her life story in a new memoir, “The Show Must Go On: My Dance with Chicago.” Beyond offering an inside look at her support for the zoo, she shares growing up in 1920s Chicago, her time as a dancer and pageant queen, and her philanthropic support for some of the city’s great institutions. You can see Marion’s book—and other unique zoo items—in the Wild Things online gift shop.

See more zoo history, including the 100th anniversary of the Kovler Lion House, in the Winter 2012 issue of Lincoln Park Zoo magazine: Past Meets Present.