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March 27, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 2, 2018 from 4-8 PM. A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery, Wayne.
Marilyn Ratcliffe Levy, age 87 of Wyckoff, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at the Christian Healthcare Center.
She was born in New York City and at the age of about five the family moved to Pompton Lakes New Jersey. Marilyn was raised in Pompton Lakes and one of her babysitters was the famous boxer Joe Lewis who trained there. She graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the Class of 1949. During her high school years she served as a “soda jerk” at the soda fountain within the local pharmacy. The soda fountain counter was owned by her two aunts. She later worked as a switchboard operator and upon moving to Florida to study at the University of Florida she took on a job as a switchboard operator at a local hotel. Marilyn soon quit college as her hometown sweetheart, Robert Ratcliffe, proposed marriage. They married on September 4, 1953 at the Preakness Reformed Church on Church Lane in Wayne. They soon started a family and raised their four children in Wayne.
Marilyn was an accomplished artist specializing primarily in oil and water color landscapes. She was a member of the Cider Painters of America who specialized in very detailed miniature paintings. She even had the honor of having one of her Cider Paintings displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. She enjoyed painting well into her 70’s. Coming from a Vaudevillian family Marilyn also enjoyed doing puppet shows for schools and churches. She even worked with the Fire Department in Wayne to develop a fire safety themed show. For many years she was a Cub Scout Leader and Girl Scout Leader in Wayne. Marilyn’s artistic abilities proved useful at the Preakness Pharmacy, which was her husband Robert’s store. She would make all the seasonal changes to the store’s windows and décor.
Marilyn was a long time member of the Preakness Reformed Church in Wayne. She was the first female deacon for the Reformed Church of America and served on the church’s Consistory. She also ran the church’s “Tea Room” for many years.
Sadly Marilyn’s husband Robert Ratcliffe passed in 1978. She soon found companionship with her best friend from high schools brother Albert Levy. They married and Marilyn moved to Monroe, New York where she lived there for twenty-four years. Albert had a store called the Treasure Chest in Monroe, NY where she again helped with the decorating. She lived in Monroe, NY for twenty-four years before Albert’s passing in 2004. She then moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains where she lived until 2012 when she moved to the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff. She loved her role as a grandmother and was very proud of all her grandchildren’s accomplishments.
Marilyn will be remembered as a loving, concerned person with a great sense of humor. She loved skating, was a great dancer, and an avid birder. She loved animals and would do anything to help them. She rescued raccoons, seagulls, snakes, kittens, and even mice. Once she came upon an injured swan and brought it to the local veterinarian who didn’t know what to do with it. Marilyn brought the swan to her brother-in-law, Dr. Jack Ratcliffe, and they snuck the swan in through the back door of Chilton Hospital to have it x-rayed. The x-ray showed lead shot in the bird’s intestinal tract, and after consultation with other doctors, the only thing they could think to do was give the swan an enema. I guess it’s a good thing swans can’t really make much noise! Sadly, the swan succumbed to his ailment, but not before Marilyn had exhausted every option to help him.
Marilyn was the loving mother of Robert Taylor Ratcliffe, Jr. and his wife Sharon Timko of Garrett Park, MD, Glenn W. Ratcliffe of Wayne, Kerri L. Ratcliffe and her husband Robert D. Henderson of Boston, Massachusetts, and Christopher F. Ratcliffe and his wife Reverend Dr. Karyn Ratcliffe of Wayne; cherished grandmother of twelve grandchildren; dear sister of the late Gladys (Chickie) Chatterton (1975).
In lieu of flowers, friends wishing to make donations in Marilyn's name are asked to consider the Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 2, 2018 from 4-8 PM. A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery, Wayne.
March 27, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, April 2, 2018 from 4-8 PM. A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery, Wayne.
Marilyn Ratcliffe Levy, age 87 of Wyckoff, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at the Christian Healthcare Center.
She was born in New York City and at the age of about five the family moved to Pompton Lakes New Jersey. Marilyn was raised in Pompton Lakes and one of her babysitters was the famous boxer Joe Lewis who trained there. She graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the Class of 1949. During her high school years she served as a “soda jerk” at the soda fountain within the local pharmacy. The soda fountain counter was owned by her two aunts. She later worked as a switchboard operator and upon moving to Florida to study at the University of Florida she took on a job as a switchboard operator at a local hotel. Marilyn soon quit college as her hometown sweetheart, Robert Ratcliffe, proposed marriage. They married on September 4, 1953 at the Preakness Reformed Church on Church Lane in Wayne. They soon started a family and raised their four children in Wayne.
Marilyn was an accomplished artist specializing primarily in oil and water color landscapes. She was a member of the Cider Painters of America who specialized in very detailed miniature paintings. She even had the honor of having one of her Cider Paintings displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. She enjoyed painting well into her 70’s. Coming from a Vaudevillian family Marilyn also enjoyed doing puppet shows for schools and churches. She even worked with the Fire Department in Wayne to develop a fire safety themed show. For many years she was a Cub Scout Leader and Girl Scout Leader in Wayne. Marilyn’s artistic abilities proved useful at the Preakness Pharmacy, which was her husband Robert’s store. She would make all the seasonal changes to the store’s windows and décor.
Marilyn was a long time member of the Preakness Reformed Church in Wayne. She was the first female deacon for the Reformed Church of America and served on the church’s Consistory. She also ran the church’s “Tea Room” for many years.
Sadly Marilyn’s husband Robert Ratcliffe passed in 1978. She soon found companionship with her best friend from high schools brother Albert Levy. They married and Marilyn moved to Monroe, New York where she lived there for twenty-four years. Albert had a store called the Treasure Chest in Monroe, NY where she again helped with the decorating. She lived in Monroe, NY for twenty-four years before Albert’s passing in 2004. She then moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains where she lived until 2012 when she moved to the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff. She loved her role as a grandmother and was very proud of all her grandchildren’s accomplishments.
Marilyn will be remembered as a loving, concerned person with a great sense of humor. She loved skating, was a great dancer, and an avid birder. She loved animals and would do anything to help them. She rescued raccoons, seagulls, snakes, kittens, and even mice. Once she came upon an injured swan and brought it to the local veterinarian who didn’t know what to do with it. Marilyn brought the swan to her brother-in-law, Dr. Jack Ratcliffe, and they snuck the swan in through the back door of Chilton Hospital to have it x-rayed. The x-ray showed lead shot in the bird’s intestinal tract, and after consultation with other doctors, the only thing they could think to do was give the swan an enema. I guess it’s a good thing swans can’t really make much noise! Sadly, the swan succumbed to his ailment, but not before Marilyn had exhausted every option to help him.
Marilyn was the loving mother of Robert Taylor Ratcliffe, Jr. and his wife Sharon Timko of Garrett Park, MD, Glenn W. Ratcliffe of Wayne, Kerri L. Ratcliffe and her husband Robert D. Henderson of Boston, Massachusetts, and Christopher F. Ratcliffe and his wife Reverend Dr. Karyn Ratcliffe of Wayne; cherished grandmother of twelve grandchildren; dear sister of the late Gladys (Chickie) Chatterton (1975).
In lieu of flowers, friends wishing to make donations in Marilyn's name are asked to consider the Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474.
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