Merrie Lynn Ruzzin

MY MERRIE LYNN, AN ADMIRABLE AND BEAUTIFUL LIFE, DEDICATED TO FAMILY. __________________________________________________________________ Merrie Lynn was the special name that Mary and Emmett Harbert gave to their first child, a baby girl. It was an unusual name that she was very proud of mostly because she appreciated her mother's great love. A brother David would soon follow. They grew up on the east side of Detroit on Moross Road between Harper and Kelly. Merrie Lynn went to school at Queen of Peace and later to Dominican High School. Her faith was very important to her throughout her life. She was a very intelligent, beautiful girl and grew to be tall and slim with a loving personality, a quick smile and a great sense of humor. Her mother had English heritage and grew English roses. Merrie Lynn's first job was at a florist on Houston Whittier where she learned how to arrange flowers. She loved flowers of all kinds her entire life, especially roses and she grew them very well wherever she lived. She loved having flowers in the house and around her in the yard. No flower's life was ever wasted, if one fell from it's stem she brought it into the house to display it in a small dish with a little water. She also loved trees and loved the flowering trees in the spring around Grosse Pointe. A drive down Lakeshore Drive was always very special, she hoped to see a freighter and always looked for the swans. She loved animals and small birds were a favorite, she fed and watered them year round. Once while driving she saw a Bluebird being attacked by Crows, she saved it, brought it home and nursed it back to health. She loved her cats and her favorite time of day was in the evening, sitting in her pajamas and bathrobe on the couch with her two cats on her lap watching TV with a cup of tea and the phone close by, hoping to hear from one of her children. She loved her children, she prayed for them daily and they were never far from her thoughts. She delighted in their achievements. She was so happy to have three grandchildren, Tate, Oliver and Zachary. News of them made her life a celebration. Merrie Lynn and Dick had three children, Mark, Gregory and Alyssa. She named them all and there was absolutely nothing that she could ever do for them that was not done. She married to be a mother and was so happy to have them. She raised them carefully with love and they are a wonderful reflection of Merrie Lynn, each in their own way. She liked cars, when she was sixteen her father bought her a black 1949 Mercury with skirts so that she could drive to work. Sometimes the gear linkage would stick and she would have to pull over, get out to open the hood in her high heel shoes and then fix it. She especially liked driving a red car. Merrie Lynn was very well organized and after high school she attended business school and then was employed by Chrysler and became the secretary for the Director of Marketing. Later she joined the Air Force as she wanted to travel but decided not to go after meeting Dick. They married on August 26, 1961 and her new in-laws loved her dearly throughout their lives.. She always supported her husband in every possible way, she was the love of his life. She was very modest as any girl from Dominican would be, she dressed carefully in an elegant way and red was her favorite color. Her favorite charities were the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, the Shriners Children Fund and any Veterans charity as she loved our country and those who protected it. Merrie Lynn had many friends but it is fair to say that her family was what she lived for, she was a wonderful wife and mother. Words cannot describe our loss . Dick Ruzzin / 12-31-2017 __________________________________________________________________ OUR WEDDING We had a wonderful wedding. As I waited at the alter there was music and excitement in the air. She walked smiling toward me on her fathers arm in her beautiful white dress and put her hand in mine. It was small and very cool. Suddenly everything grew quiet in my mind and I was struck with the thought that I wanted to be responsible for her, that I would always take care of her, that I would do anything and everything for her. Her response was to make a wonderful life for us. A BEAUTIFUL WIFE. She was the calm in my life, always there to help and advise. She took care of everything inside the house and I took care of everything outside. She sent me off in the morning with a smile and a warm kiss and when I came home she was there to greet me with the same. She wanted to be a mother and loved her children without end, providing for their every need. In a quiet way she was the center of our family, loved by her mother and father and so adored by my parents until the end of their days. She was very smart and used her intelligence to gently guide all of us toward a happy life. She was very successful. Dick Ruzzin MERRIE LYNN RUZZIN WITH BABY MARK, HER FIRST CHILD. When I look at this picture I see a beautiful young woman that is so happy that she is positively glowing. She is holding her first child and her smile cannot be large enough. Merrie Lynn wanted to be a mother, to have children and to care for them without limit. This picture reveals how beautiful she was, it was because of her inner peace and the love that she had for others. For me, Merrie Lynn, a kind and warm hearted person was always the most beautiful girl in the room. I told her that in the past but just recently made sure that she knew that it was still so. Looking back it is a wonder that I was able to convince such a wonderful person, such a beautiful girl, to marry me. Dick Ruzzin Merrie Lynn was the beloved wife of Richard. Dear mother of Mark (Elizabeth), Gregory (Emi) and Alyssa. Loving grandmother of Tate, Oliver and Zachary. Sister of David Harbert. Visitation Wednesday 7-9 pm with Scripture Service 7:30 pm at the A. H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Avenue at Vernier Road, Grosse Pointe Woods. In state Thursday 10 am until time of Mass 11 am at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 15004 Hampton, Grosse Pointe Park. Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital, Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, or the VFW.

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236