Edith Emily Marasco's Obituary
Edith Emily Marasco (Smejkal), age 90, of Mount Airy, Maryland, passed away on May 15, 2023. Beloved wife of Eugene Paul (deceased, 1931-2022) for 66 years; sister of Thomas Harry Smejkal (deceased); mother of Laurie Jean (Michael Richards), Tamara Ann (Randy Sultzer), and Robin Lynn (Keough); Grandmother (Nanny) of Daniel Warren Richards (Dukota), Matthew Gene Keough, Zachary Griffin Sultzer, and Benjamin Maxwell Sultzer.
Known as Edie to her family and friends, she was born on August 5, 1932 in Montclair, New Jersey, to Theodore Rudolph Smejkal (1897-1982) and Mary Alice (Ansell, of London, England, 1900-88). The family lived in Montclair until Edie was fifteen years old. They then lived in West Orange and Glen Ridge over the next ten years. While in high school, Edie worked at several jobs, including an usherette at the Montclair Theater, where she met movie stars Mae West, Mickey Rooney, and Peter Lawford. In 1954, she went into training as a nursing school student and intern at North Beth Israel Hospital in Glen Ridge, followed by several years as a nurse specializing in labor and delivery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Montclair. She met, fell in love with, and married Gene on May 19, 1956. They lived in New Jersey until 1967, when they moved to Apalachin, New York. They moved to Mount Airy in 1984, where they spent the rest of their lives together. During the years of raising her three daughters, Edie was a Brownie Leader and Junior Garden Club Leader, New York Chapter, of the Garden Club Association of America. She also worked as an Aide for handicapped children at the Broome-Tioga BOCES organization, a position which she loved and cared for deeply. She was a skilled seamstress and sewed most of her daughters’ clothes when they were young. Over these years she developed many artistic talents that produced many objects of beauty and practical use. She worked in many types of art media, including needlepoint and crewel work, knitting, macramé, quilling, theorem painting, pen and ink drawing, watercolor painting, stenciling, rug braiding, quilting, furniture upholstery, and dried flower arrangements. She incorporated crafts and artwork that she created into her household, which became a family feature through the years. Her spirit is well cast across the many crafts and pieces of art she bestowed on loved ones and sold to the public, as well as the many skills she taught to family and friends. Edie’s gardens were of supreme pride to her in every place she lived. She was not formerly certified, but practiced in every way as a Master Gardener. Wherever her gardens grew, they were known as “Edie’s Eden.” Her gardens at the Marasco residence in Mount Airy were recognized and featured in the Mount Airy News newspaper. She was also an expert flower designer and won New York State County and State level blue ribbons for her arrangements. Edie had a great love of cats, and always had a feline companion by her side. She was also an aficionado of spooky movies, watching them over the years, and found willing partners in her grandsons with which to watch many more! But among all of her talents, Edie’s greatest gift to us was her incredible capacity for love and caring, whether for the closest family member or a new acquaintance. A wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, this is the legacy we have from her. It was as if we had an angel walking among us on Earth, for which we will be forever fortunate to have experienced.
“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” -Alfred Lord Tennyson.
By Edie’s wishes, the family will have a simple graveside ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Small Miracles Cat and Dog Rescue in Ellicott City, Maryland, 21042, www.smallmiraclesrescue.org.
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