Marilyn Jerrick

MADISON - Our beloved aunt, Marilyn Jean Jerrick, died quietly on July 8, 2024, at 93. We’re heartbroken. She has been deeply involved in our lives, our children’s lives, and their children’s lives since day one. She was always there for all of us.

Marilyn’s dearest friend and life partner, John Rogne; her parents, Norma and Marien Jerrick; her brother, Dick Jerrick, and his wife, Shirley, all preceded her in death. Marilyn is survived by a swarm of nieces and nephews, including greats and great-greats.

Marilyn was born on Sept. 20, 1930, in Madison, Wis., and there she stayed. She graduated from Madison East High School in 1949 and worked at University Hospital and Camp Randall Stadium. Later she worked a long career as a stenographer and administrative assistant for Dane County Social Services. Marilyn spent most of her life as a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and later Lake Edge Lutheran Church. Marilyn was always an artist with a keen eye for the way shapes, colors, and textures looked beautiful together. She could see beauty in the simplest things.

Aunt Marilyn was marvelous in a thousand ways. It wasn’t just her love for empty grocery store potato salad containers and “cute” plastic juice bottles that she heaped up in her garage. It wasn’t just that we found her safety deposit box stuffed with precious paperclips and rubber bands-a hedge against hard times. It was the many noble qualities that flowed from that Depression Era mentality and plain old good heart-loyalty, responsibility, duty, generosity. Every day for four years Marilyn ate lunch at her mother’s nursing home with her, unwilling to have “Mum” spend a day alone. Even on a stenographer’s pension, ever-frugal Marilyn was profoundly generous with all of us. She came to our silly school sing-alongs, even when our own parents couldn’t stand to. She made cupcakes for our kindergarten classes when we started school. Even as young children, we could count on her to call us and talk our ear off several times a week. She made us feel important. She was quirky and laughed at herself heartily. She was cranky and insisted on having things her way. She was strong, brave, independent, and determined in the face of the hardship life dealt her. She was hilarious and infuriating. She was ubiquitous. We could not have done without her. We love her and will miss her forever.

If you would like to make a donation in Marilyn’s honor, give a big fat tip to someone you meet, like the baristas and waitresses that Marilyn often stiffed because she was saving for the kids’ college. (She stuck to her priorities!) Or let someone cut in line in traffic and think of our unshakably confident Aunt Marilyn, who often declared, “I drive great--the rest of the drivers can just look out for themselves!” Just do something nice for someone or make someone laugh in memory of Marilyn Jerrick. Do it for every one of the folks on this obit page. Every one of them left behind a big hole in this world that we all need to fill with some kindness.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420