On August 23, 2020, Marlene Gloria Mann Kardon passed away at 83 years of age. She is preceded in death by her husband of 43 years: Louis Kardon. Her memory will live on through her sister Beverly Korrito; son Alan Kardon; daughter-in-law Kathleen Kardon; niece Lori; nephews Darren and Jeffrey; several grandchildren: Kristinn & Patrick Sharpe, Ryan & Vicki Leonhart, Jordan Leonhart, Alana Kardon, Rachel & Greg Harris, and Eli Kardon; grandniece Rhea; as well as her great-grandchildren: Jackson, Lucy, Gabe, Gus, Sofia, Johnny, Asher, Alden, Oren, Aden, Abram, Khalil, and Irena; and countless others who loved her.
Marlene Kardon was loving, selfless, fearless, and a mighty presence to behold. In her younger years, she travelled the world with husband Lou who was in the U.S. Air Force, and she was an incredible cook, taking great care of everyone.
She looked forward to her calls with her sister Beverly every Sunday. In her kitchen hung a sign that read, “Try it, you’ll like it,” and that seemed to be her motto in life. She was constantly asking questions, and not just, “how many pancakes or how many meatballs do you want?”
She was genuinely curious and interested in everything and everyone. “Tell me what’s going on with you,” she’d say. As she got older, she asked total strangers the most personal questions and doled out advice and didn’t understand why people thought she was “cute.”
Marlene’s heart was gigantic. She was no-nonsense, direct and to the point, but never unkind or too serious. She was a crossing guard for several years in the North East Independent School District, which took courage when you consider she had been hit by a trolley in Chicago as a young girl. Marlene wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone.
She took in every stray animal that showed up at her door, even the not-so-domesticated ones. She’d say, “Well, if I don’t feed them, who will?” She loved her soap operas and her gossip magazines and didn’t miss making a birthday phone call.
Her grandkids thought it was fun to try to get a rise out of her – to get her eyes to widen with surprise, but she just laughed. She knew we were full of it. She didn’t take grief from anyone, and she didn’t want you to either. If you are thinking about doing something different or trying something new, her advice to you would undoubtedly be: Try it, you’ll like it.
May her memory be for a blessing.
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