Marilyn Horton

Marilyn Horton (nee Hughes), 94, a longtime resident of Westwood, passed away on March 22, 2023. Marilyn was the daughter of Daniel and Anna Hughes (nee McVeigh). Marilyn is predeceased by her husband Riley, her sister Dorothy, her brother Joseph, and her nephew Daniel. Marilyn is survived by her son Riley and his wife Patricia (nee Ryan) and their children - Meaghan, Joseph, Casey, Bridget, Riley and Mary Kate as well as her son Paul and his wife Joy (nee Grossman) and their children Tate, Abigail, and Sarah. Marilyn is also survived by her niece, Mary Ann Ehrmann and her husband Mark and her nephew, John Agricola, and his wife MaryAnne.

Born in Paterson, Marilyn was the first member of her family to graduate from college and received a B.S. in Secondary Education from Fordham University in 1950. After teaching elementary school for a few years, Marilyn decided to pursue a career in nursing and received her B.S.N. from Columbia University’s School of Nursing in 1958. Nursing was her passion and she enjoyed floor nursing at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and later served as a nurse on a skyscraper project in Manhattan where she was profiled in MD Magazine, March 1960 edition. After taking some time off to raise her family, Marilyn enjoyed a twenty-year career with the Paterson Health Department. During her career, she was the supervisor of the communicable disease program as well as the child immunization and health programs across the Paterson school system. She was especially proud that two of her granddaughters, Mary Kate and Bridget, followed her footsteps into the nursing profession. As a retiree, she enjoyed being an ESL tutor at the Westwood public library through Literacy NJ.

Marilyn was a "Jersey Girl" through and through. While she was an avid reader and enjoyed traveling, her greatest joy was spending time at her summer home in Lake Hopatcong or visiting friends at the Jersey Shore. A devoted and devout Catholic, Marilyn was a parishioner at the Church of the Assumption in Emerson, NJ for more than 40 years. She was also a proud member of the Catholic Daughters through Our Lady of Victories parish in Harrington Park. She prayed the rosary daily and had an unwavering faith in the “power of prayer”. Her sons will never forget the strength Marilyn exhibited as she cared for her husband through his lengthy, terminal illness while balancing her work and the needs of a young, active family.

Visitation will be held on Friday March 31, 2023 from 3-7 pm at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Rd, Westwood, NJ. Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday April 1, 2023, at 9:30 am at Church of the Assumption, 29 Jefferson Ave, Emerson, NJ. Interment will be held on April 1, 2023, at 11:00 am at Maryrest Cemetery, 770 Darlington Avenue, Mahwah, NJ.