Marita Kay Mann

Marita K. Mann, age 79, passed away at home on June 16, 2021. Marita was born November 15, 1941 to Burton L. Mann and Lois (Kinsey) Mann in Hamilton, Ohio. She graduated from Hamilton High School (go Big Blue!) in 1959, and later settled in Lake Orion, MI for many years, where she and her husband Bernie Drzewinski owned and operated Bernella’s Speedshop and then Bernella’s Auto Parts from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Marita and her family moved to Glendale, AZ in 1978, where she began a long career with Sonora Quest Laboratories beginning in the mid-1980s through her retirement in 2006. She happily shared her last 30 years with her husband Ray Moses.

Marita was part of the drag racing community with her previous husbands Gene Burgess and Bernie, was an avid golfer, enjoyed bridge and other board games, and is remembered by her many friends and family for her bright personality and infectious laugh. Marita is preceded by husband Gene, her parents, sister Deanna Wise, and daughter Christy Melhuse. She is survived by her husband Ray, daughters Tammy (Melhuse) Smart and Robert Jurek, Tracy (Melhuse) Dermyer and Linda (Burgess) Hausman, 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Per Marita’s wishes, no formal services will be held, with an informal celebration to be scheduled later in the fall.