Marilyn Mina Hartland

Marilyn was a loving wife, proud mother of four children, Grandmother of nine, and three Great Grandchildren.

Marilyn spent her early childhood, years 1 to 5 in northern Ontario Canada’s Cline Mining Country living in a log cabin where dog sleds were used for transportation and ice skating on Pine Lake was the recreation. At age 5 she went to live in Sault Ste Marie Canada with her grandmother as it was time to begin kindergarten.

Her younger sister Geraldine and parents August and Marie Tedesco Kari, stayed behind a while longer earning money to build a house in Sault Ste Marie. It was just after the depression when money and jobs were scarce. In order to make a living her Dad worked in the gold mines as the diamond driller who followed the “motherlode”. By age 11, Marilyn and the family migrated to the United States leaving Canada by train filled with returning soldiers from WWII. Sponsored by Finnish relatives in Ashland Wisconsin life was good. They moved to Milwaukee where younger sister Jayne was born. Around 1950 they finally settled in Williamsville NY, an up and coming suburb of Buffalo where Marilyn graduated high school. Marilyn met the love of her life, Jack Hartland, while working as a legal secretary in downtown Buffalo at the Liberty Bank Building. Jack and Lynn married in 1956.

As the oldest of three, Marilyn was known for watching out for her sisters, and that bond lasted until she was called home.

Jack’s occupation with General Motors for over twenty years kept them moving across the East Coast. Some cities where Marilyn and Jack raised their kids, and met some of their lifelong friends include, Buffalo, NY, Huntington, WV, Cincinnati, OH, Jacksonville, FL, Waterford, MI, and Houston, TX in 1975.

General Motors didn’t lead them to Texas, it was an opportunity in 1975 to become a partner in the computer payroll industry. Marilyn and Jack had a great partnership as parents raising a family of four so they took a leap of faith when Jack became a founding partner of the Paychex team lead by CEO Tom Golisano headquartered in Rochester NY, representing Houston and Dallas. Marilyn working alongside Jack, helped make PAYCHEX a national corporation listed on the NASDAQ by the early eighties. When Jack retired in the early eighties, they traveled the world, and experienced many different cultures. When they were not traveling, Marilyn and Jack were well known for throwing many get togethers in their neighborhood, while they belonged to a lively Gourmet dinner club.

After Jack’s passing in 1990, Marilyn’s center of focus was watching the next generations grow around her, developing into young adults, with the same standards and expectations she demanded from raising her own children.

Marilyn was a Breast Cancer survivor, managed Type 2 Diabetes, and in November, 2019 she was given the news she had to fight cancer again. She partnered with MD Anderson to fight this aggressive form of cancer, going through COVID-19 on top of everything she had to deal with, remained positive, until she lost her fight.

Our mother, was extremely moved by this simple eulogy poem, that she wants to have read at her service:

“Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only

remember me with tears, then don’t remember me at all.”

--- Laura Ingalls Wilder----

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents August and Marie Tedesco Kari, devoted husband Jack Hartland. She is survived by her sisters Geraldine Arquit McIIwain and Jayne Maahs. Her four children Tim (Karen) Hartland, Sharon (Roger) Holland, Kevin (Debbie)Hartland, and Jonathan Hartland, her nine Grandchildren, Roger, Jack, Jacob, Shariann, Danielle, Jaclyn, Nicholas, James, Joseph, and her Great Grandchildren, Ameerah, Chandler and Bree.

Private graveside services will be held at Memorial Oaks Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions in the memory of Marilyn M. Hartland to any cancer foundation.

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