As real as real could get

Marlene was an original. She was a woman without a filter, as real as real could get. Marlene was not afraid to say what she was thinking. In a world where so many always choose their words with care, you never had to wonder what she was thinking. She would tell you.

In the stars and in the sky

Her favorite spot was the porch swing with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She adored her great grandsons, Finn and Logan. She only met Logan once as he was born shortly before she died. Marlene babysat Finn, who was almost 2 at the time while her granddaughter worked and would never put him down when he slept. She would just rock and hold him. He looks for her and when he sees a picture of her, he asks, “Mem, where you at?” When told that she’s in heaven and is found in the stars and the sky, he looks up at night and says, “Hi Mem!”

Support every step of the way

Marlene’s husband was her best friend. They met 54 years ago at a dance when he was in a rock band, got married, and had a baby all in the same year. While she worked in sewing factories most of her life as a seamstress, she always invested time into her husband’s dreams. When her husband started farming, she helped him feed and milk the cows. When he started his business of building sprint car wings, she drove all over Pennsylvania and Ohio delivering and filling the wing orders.

A stage 4 cancer diagnosis forced her husband to leave the wing business. But you guessed it, Marlene was there to help him through his surgery and treatments. She didn’t waiver in her continued support when he started anew with a woodworking business. Marlene was right behind him cleaning up all his messes that he made while building custom cabinetry. In retirement, they sold their family home and the only kitchen her husband had left to build was their own in their new home. They lived there a week before Marlene died and her husband scrounged up the strength to complete the kitchen in her memory.

The ultimate giveback

She ultimately died of cardiac arrest. It was sudden and unexpected. She had rheumatic fever as a child that damaged her heart valves. She had two surgeries for valve replacements during her life. You would never have known her heart history if you met her. She worked hard, loved hard, and was full of life. The ultimate give back was from her granddaughter, Claire. She is a respiratory therapist and she ran to try to save Marlene from across the street. The strength for her to do CPR on her Mem under emotional distress shows great things about what Marlene instilled in her family and the legacy she left.

The Marlene 14k Gold Birthstone Flower Ring

Marlene’s ring is inspired by the flower necklace that she always wore. She used to tease that one of her loved ones would inherit it after she died. Instead of any one person getting it, Marlene’s family turned this heirloom into the traveling necklace. Think: the sisterhood of the traveling pants. Whenever one of Marlene’s loved ones is part of a special event where her absence is felt, that person wears it. In between events, it rests on Marlene’s nightstand in a blue velvet bag.