Marilyn Y. Boyer Zebio

Marilyn Zebio was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Marilyn was born on June 17, 1936 at Old Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents were Floyd and Mildred Boyer. Marilyn was raised in Inkster, Michigan. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Growing up in the Boyer household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Marilyn was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Marilyn was raised with two siblings. She had two younger brothers, Ronald and Donald. Marilyn and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Marilyn was always consistently loyal to her family.

As a young child, Marilyn was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. She wasn’t pushy and never forced her way into games or other activities. Marilyn developed a variety of interests, though, and the things she enjoyed doing she did well. She was always curious about the world around her and was often eager to explore it. Marilyn took part in swimming. Marilyn's memorable achievements included winning a spelling bee and arranging help for a friend who lost her leg after being hit by a car. However, what Marilyn enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with her many friends.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Marilyn as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from Lorey High School in 1954. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite class in high school was English. Marilyn was known as an exceptional student with very good grades. Marilyn was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Marilyn always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Marilyn was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Marilyn was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Marilyn to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of her best friends were Joanne Keparich and Bernadine Snyder. Later in life, she became friends with Mona, Agnes, Sharon, Norm and Becky.

On July 30, 1955 Marilyn exchanged wedding vows with Tom Zebio at the Wayne Baptist Church of Wayne, Michigan. Compassionate and devoted to Tom, Marilyn held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Tom and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

Marilyn brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Marilyn was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Marilyn was blessed with one child, a son, Brad. They were also blessed with one grandchild, Jennifer and 3 great grandchildren, Joseph, Isaac and Aiden.

Marilyn greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Marilyn enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Marilyn was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was as a secretery. She was employed for 20 years with H. F. Cambell Corporation. Marilyn worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Marilyn liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Marilyn always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuit was making and selling ceramics. Marilyn was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

Marilyn enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Marilyn appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Marilyn always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacation locations included Florida, California and Michigan.

Marilyn was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Marilyn’s favorites was Scotty, a Scottish Terrier. They were best friends for 9 years.

When Marilyn’s retirement finally arrived in 1996, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Her new life involved relocating to Las Vegas in 1999. In retirement, she found new pleasure in taking care of Tom as a wife and baby-sitting her great grandchildren. Even in retirement, Marilyn continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.

Marilyn Zebio passed away on July 18, 2010 at Valley Hospital, Las Vegas, Nevada after heart stopped working. She is survived by her husband, Tom; her son, Brad; her daughter-in-law, Kathy; Her granddaughter, Jennifer and Jennifer's husband, Jake; her great grandchildren, Joseph, Isaac and Aiden. Services were held at Palm Mortuary - Northwest. Marilyn was laid to rest in Palm Mortuary - Northwest in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Marilyn Zebio. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.