Marlene Ann Wich (née Grace): Daughter, sister, wife, mother, nurse, grandmother, and friend. Marlene was many things to many, many people. She will be especially missed by her five children: Mike, C. Ann, John, Janet, and Jenny. Her eleven grandchildren will also miss their Oma/Grandma: Julian, Cecilia, John Paul, Harry, Michael, Alex, Kelsey, Charlee, Max, Zane, and Skyler. Her younger brothers and sisters will feel the absence of their big sister: Richard, Peggy, Ginger, Cynthie, Louis, Jeffrey, Rosemary, and Tricia. She also felt a very close connection to the Wich family and thought of her husband’s siblings and their spouses as brothers and sisters. There are just too many nieces, nephews, and friends to name, but we all have one thing in common: Knowing Marlene made our lives better.
Marlene was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 19, 1939. She was the first child of Louis and Margaret Grace. She was so doted over that she didn’t start walking until after the age of two since she was carried around so much. Marlene was the first of ten children. In fact, one of the strong bonds between Marlene and her husband A. Michael Wich is that they both knew the responsibility of being the oldest of ten.
Instead of attending her last two years of high school, Marlene decided to become a Dominican nun. She moved to Springfield, Illinois, where she attended an academy that was connected to the convent and finished high school. After she took her vows to become a nun, Marlene became known as Sister Louis Mary. In the late 1950s, when there was a desperate need for schoolteachers, the convent required her to get her college degree in education and become an elementary school teacher. Fortunately for her future children, after six years, Sister Louis Mary decided to become Marlene again and pursue a degree in nursing—her first love.
Just a short time after returning home to Memphis, Michigan, she was invited to attend the wedding of a former high school classmate, where she became reacquainted with Michael Wich, another former classmate. She once again veered from the path of becoming a nurse. Nine months later Marlene and Michael were married, and nine months after that, their firstborn Michael Joseph arrived. Michael was the first of five children to be born to them. During the next four years, they also welcomed Catherine, John, Janet, and Jennifer into the world.
Around this same time, Mike and Marlene decided that it was time for a simpler life and moved to a farm in Hamilton, Michigan, where they acquired several cows and pigs, two horses, and three snowmobiles. It turned out to be a great place to raise a family.
Eventually, Mike and Marlene moved back to Holland, Michigan. Once their youngest daughter Jenny entered kindergarten, it was finally time for Marlene to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. She immediately enrolled in college, and four years later, she graduated at the top of her class from Hackley School of Nursing in Muskegon, Michigan. This was the beginning of a nursing career as a RN in surgery that spanned over twenty years.
Throughout her life, Marlene always pursued her interests with passion. Traveling was one of those values she shared with her husband. They loved traveling in motorhomes, and later converted buses, to destinations throughout the United States. In the 1980’s Marlene also didn’t hesitate to take a trip to Europe with her mother that lasted for several weeks. Foreign languages and exchange rates weren’t going to stop her from seeing the world.
Later in life, Marlene took up the hobby of quilting. She devoted an entire room in her home to her sewing machine and yards and yards of fabric. She created the most beautiful and creative quilts for loved ones and friends. Sewing appealed to her strengths of precision and accuracy and to her keen eye for color. Her quilts were true works of art. Moreover, she shared her passion for quilting by teaching it to family and friends in her neighborhood.
Marlene equally valued being both a wife and a mother. She always took pride in having a home that was well-cared-for and welcoming to guests. She especially liked trying new recipes and treating her guests to home-cooked meals. She doted on her husband Michael for fifty-nine years. They were an incredible team. They themselves were very independent and self-reliant, and they raised their children to be the same way. Marlene also enjoyed reading and greatly valued a good education—values that she passed down to her children.
Marlene Wich made this world a better place with her presence, and she will continue to have a positive influence on the world due to all the people that she has profoundly touched. Marlene Ann Wich died on June 9, 2022, at the age of 83. She will be greatly missed, but she will always be fondly remembered.
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