Marilyn Jo Gillespie (Ritchie)

Gillespie (Ritchie), Marilyn Jo

82, passed away Friday, October 6, 2023, at Vista Grande Villa in Jackson, Michigan.

Marilyn was born in Jackson on Christmas Day, December 25, 1940. She was a 1959 graduate of Jackson High School, and after graduation was a longtime active member of the Vikings' class of '59 reunion committee. She attended Katharine Gibbs College in Boston, earning a secretarial degree, which she put to use at Aeroquip Corporation, starting in 1961. She also worked in her father's tire store, Ritch's Tire and Battery in Jackson. She married her high school sweetheart, Ron, in 1963, and after a few years off to stay at home with their four girls, she returned to Aeroquip where she finished her career, retiring in 2004.

Marilyn is survived by her four daughters, Alicen Gillespie of Madison Heights, Erin Bunting of Castalia, Ohio, Katherine (Tom) Moceri of Walled Lake, and Karen (Russell) Carley of Torrance, California; seven grandchildren, Dr. Samuel Bunting, MD, Dr. Emma Carley, PhD, U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Leo (Laura) Bunting, Grace Carley, Matteo, Marco, and Sophia Moceri, and great-grandson, Lennox Bunting.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, Ronald Gillespie, her parents, Gilbert and Josephine (Klein) Ritchie, and her faithful companion, Momma Dog.

Marilyn was always up for an adventure. She enjoyed traveling, restaurants, music, art, theater, bowling, snowmobiling, playing cards, and spending summers at the family cabin on Sapphire Lake in Lake City, Michigan. She was a die-hard Michigan State University football and basketball fan. She was an even bigger fan of her grandchildren, celebrating their milestones and achievements in person when she was able to, and later via Zoom or FaceTime from her room at Vista Grande Villa. Artistically, Marilyn was a late-bloomer and started painting prolifically in the last few years of her life, creating artwork for her family and friends, and to adorn the hallways at her nursing home.

The family wishes to extend special thanks to the care team at Vista Grande Villa for their attentive and loving care of Marilyn (and for keeping her well-stocked with art supplies and wall space to display her works), and to the dedicated medical teams at the University of Michigan Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital.

A memorial service for Marilyn will be held at 12 Noon Saturday, December 2, 2023 at Vista Grande Villa, 2251 Springport Road, Jackson, with visitation one hour prior to the service, and light refreshments afterward, until 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to donate in Marilyn's name to the Cascades Humane Society https://chspets.com/ways-to-donate/

Desnoyer Funeral Home
Family Owned for 133 Years