Marilyn Joan Hawthorne

Marilyn Joan Wertz Hawthorne, our beloved mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully while napping on April 22, 2024 at the age of 91 in her retirement community in Arlington, Virginia. We take great comfort that she left this earthly home on her own terms and in her own time. A lifelong and proud Pennsylvanian (and later Pittsburgher), Marilyn made the “big move” two years ago to become a close neighbor of her daughter, Nancy Hawthorne Morley (Bill) and their daughters, Katie, Elizabeth (Oliver), Samantha and Caroline in Arlington, Virginia. This move also brought her closer to her son, John David “JD” Hawthorne (Lara) and their children, Colin and Mitchell living in Hampton, Virginia. Marilyn was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to Clyde and Margaret Naomi (Gardner) Wertz on August 6,1932, where she grew up with her elder sister, Lois Wertz Smith, and their neighboring extended family. She graduated from Richland High School and the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown. She thoroughly enjoyed her work as a bookkeeper for Reese Electric and later at the Blood Bank of Pittsburgh. She volunteered her treasurer skills to several organizations, and enviably, kept her own finances in impeccable order. On her 23rd birthday, her dear friend from home, Marjorie, set up a double date with her boyfriend, Bill and his University of Pittsburgh grad school roommate, John Hawthorne. Best blind date ever, and the rest was history! Marilyn and John “Jack” Hawthorne wed on October 12, 1957 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and set up home in the hip/collegiate Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. She and Jack welcomed their daughter, Nancy, and son, JD, in their home in suburban Penn Hills. They moved to neighboring Monroeville in 1972, where Jack had a long career as an environmental research chemist at US Steel’s Research Center. Marilyn worked as a stay-at-home mom, fully caring for her family and community. She and Jack happily celebrated 57 years of marriage before his death from Alzheimer’s disease in 2014. Marilyn was a brilliant woman, with a generous, open heart, fabulous sense of humor, and a welcoming demeanor. Full of curiosity (long-life subscription to Popular Mechanics) she would happily crush the NYT crossword puzzle (while challenging her granddaughters). She enjoyed ridiculous puns, travels with Jack and friends to Europe, British cars, and was skilled at skeet and trap shooting. She always sought out the bright side in life, and her creative spirit played out in her gourmet cooking group, her canning and gardening (lots and lots of zucchinis!), her one-of-a-kind birthday cake creations, her note writing, neighborhood porch gatherings, and everything in between. She was famous for her attachment to “all things furry,” especially golden retrievers, and was known to always have dog treats available for all. She and Jack were long-time members of Monroeville United Methodist Church. After her move to Arlington, she became an on-line “member” of JD’s Wythe Presbyterian Church, where she proudly enjoyed her grandsons’ participation. In her last two years, she embraced her new Jefferson retirement community and was stimulated and content in the friendships she made there. She continuously marveled at the new chapter in her life that was never “on her bingo card.” Keeping her optimistic outlook to the end, Marilyn truly felt that she had the ultimate life well-lived and well-loved. Please join her family in a memorial service celebrating Marilyn’s life on Monday, May 13, 2024 at 11 am at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 5533 N 16th St, Arlington, VA 22205.