Marilynn C. Gietzen

Marilynn Gietzen passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 17th Loving wife of Richard Hore Dear mother of Elizabeth (Valentino) Fischione, Jennifer (Eric) Herman and Ericka (Todd) Nicol Loving step-mother to Richard (Meghan) Morris and Kriste Brown Proud grandmother of Angelina and Luke Fischione, Noah and Emma Herman, Benjamin, Megan, Aidan Nicol, Cheyenne Morris, Kai Yuponco and Genevieve Church. Dearest sister of the late Gregory (Shelly) Zmich, John (Holly) Zmich and Paulette Keating. Beloved aunt to many nieces and nephews Marilynn Carol Zmich was born on December 29, 1944 as one of 4 children born to Boniface and Henrietta Zmich. She spent her young years on Brimson in Detroit, Michigan. In early adulthood she married Richard Gietzen and began the journey to create a family. The two did just that and had three daughters. Marilynn went on to raise her three daughters while working during the day and teaching dance classes in the evening. Each year she showed off all her students’ hard work by putting on a recital at St. Juliana. When she hung up her dance teaching shoes, she put herself through school at the same time as her daughters and gained her bachelors degree in business. Earning Summa Cum Laude while working full time for General Motors meant her daughters had no excuses for not trying their best. She later retired from GM where she worked as an account executive for decades. Marilynn loved to attend functions with the close knit family with whom she grew up. She was an exceptional dancer, so any time she attended a wedding or an event with dancing she was delighted. She loved her family very much and they were her lifelong friends. Twenty three years ago she married her long time beau Richard Hore, and they moved to Shelby Township. They recreated their home top-to-bottom from the images she saw in her mind to the beautiful place it is today. She loved to travel, and she and Richard went on many adventures, each carefully documented in its own album. Marilynn loved being a grandma, and each year she transformed her home to a Christmas wonderland much to the delight of her grandchildren and family on Christmas Eve. Throughout her adulthood, her daughters always knew about the extra stash of just-in-case presents for any unexpected Christmas guests. She not only made every guest feel welcome with her infectious smile and wonderful greeting, but they’d also receive a gift as if she always knew they’d be there. Marilynn loved many other activities such as creating flower arrangements, listening to music on full blast, feeding her backyard squirrels, attending St. Lawrence where she felt inspired by the music and many more. She loved to go to estate sales to find treasures and enjoyed doing this with her sister, Paulette. She loved it so much she ended up creating an eBay store to sell these finds. For 75 years she was always in motion and working on some project, but her greatest passion and her favorite place where she spent many hours was in her gorgeous garden. It was her peace. Marilynn was known to be strong, compassionate, independent, hardworking, dependable and kind. She always had a welcoming smile and a listening ear. She set people at ease and let them know they held value in this world. Her presence marked many and her absence will be felt by us all. A celebration of her life will take place Thursday with a Memorial Mass at St. Lawrence Catholic Church at 10:00am

Marilynn C. Gietzen

December 29, 1944 - June 18, 2020