Marylou Marks

I met my wife on a blind date in the summer of 1970 at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg NY, by the end of that evening I knew she was someone special. At the time she was in her second year at Millard Filmore School of Nursing. I proposed six months later Feb 1971, we married July 22, 1972. She was a very dedicated and well respected RN in the Open Heart ICU at Millard Flimore Hospital, Gates Circle Buffalo NY. Later she worked in Utilization Review.

While in her job in UR she had our daughter, Rachel. I knew she was a hard worker, never taking maternity leave, she opted for a week’s vacation instead and returned to work. A few years later she had Breast Cancer, intensive Chemo Therapy and radiation. She had Roswell Park Cancer Institute schedule her chemo and radiation after work, she never took a sick day, I found her to be the toughest person I would ever know. When she left Millard Filmore for a Job at Health Now, the parent company for Blue Cross of WNY, she had perfect attendance at Millard. Her career at Health Now was reviewing medical policy, a job she really loved, she retired in July of 2015, with perfect attendance at Heath Now. She had a passion for gardening. The flower gardens at our home in Derby NY were spectacular receiving praise and compliments from anyone who saw them. She brought her gardening talents to our home in Florida. Just weeks before passing away she was buying flowers to plant for this season. At our summer home at Willow Beach RV Park she planted gardens around our trailer, it was her passion.

Marylou was diagnosed with Severe Agressive Multiple Myeloma October 18, 2023. Her myeloma doctor told her that this would be the toughest fight of her life with a small chance for remission. Marylou showed her toughness with three intensive chemo regimes, they nearly cost her life, she endured two T-cell clinical trials the first being a stage 1 trial, she was patient number 60, the 60th person ever to have this transplant. He second t-cell transplant was very difficult nearly bringing her to the point of surrendering to the myeloma. In October of 2025 we came down to our home in Florida, to be near our daughter, Rachel and three grandchildren, Blake, Cameron and Fallon. Marylou participated in one more clinical trial at Moffitt Cancer Hospital in Tampa. Her myeloma was completely out of control, the chemo treatment proved to be the toughest yet causing her extreme pain. It was not working and damaging her body. There were no other treatments available for her. All the pain she endured, when it was the hardest she would say “I hope that the researchers and doctors could learn enough so someday patients with severe aggressive Multiple Myeloma could have a chance for remission”. 2 years 1 month and 6 days she battled Multiple Myeloma. She was tough beyond belief, 53 years we loved, shared our joys, traveled the National Parks, created a lifetime of memories that I will never forget. I cried on December 19th when Marylou said it was time for hospice. I cried again on December 23rd when I lost the love of my life. Marylou was a quiet person, all her friends were close, and charitable she would do anything for anyone. She was beautiful, I was so lucky for her be my wife for 53 years.

Capt. Tom Marks