Marion E. Jablonski

MIDDLETON - On Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, Marion Elizabeth Jablonski, succumbed to leukemia and other maladies. She was born on April 24, 1913, to Winifred and Alfred Dow in Russeldale, Ontario. Her parents farmed their orchards on Lake Ontario's shores near Grimsby, Ontario, where Marion grew up. After graduation from high school, she trained at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, earned her cap, RN, and many life-long friends. She moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and worked at the University of Michigan Hospital. There she met Leo Jablonski, an engineering student. They married in 1939, and moved to Seaford, Delaware where Leo was employed by Du Pont. Leo enlisted in the Navy during World War II as an officer stationed at Hollywood, Fla. before shipping out. Marion continued her nursing career there. After the war, they settled in Buffalo, N.Y., where Marion became a U.S. citizen and they raised two children, Ann and Rick. In 1976, Marion and Leo retired to Stuart, Florida. They loved Florida - the beaches, boating, growing fruit and flowers, and playing bridge - and became involved in some challenging development projects. They traveled the world. They were blessed with a grandson, Nathan, before Leo's death in 1993. Several years later, Marion met Stanley Hakans, a treasured friend. Their mutual care and affection gave them joy and a respite from loneliness. Marion believed she lived a life of contentment, not without significant challenge but bereft of serious hardships. She loved nursing, and she loved sewing and fashion, musical theater, the arts and cultural anthropology. She was by turns empathetic and gentle, delighted in conversation, but also could be stridently independent, willful and tough. She had a wonderful sense of humor. She once told a bemused bank teller, "Whatever you do, don't lose your mind." She said she'd drop me a note on her post-death status. She had many questions about that. These qualities she shared with and nurtured in us, and we thank her for that gift. Thomas Jefferson wondered whether it was desirable "to witness the death of all our companions, and merely be the last victim ... a solitary trunk in a desolate field, from which all its former companions have disappeared?" Marion had similar doubts, but she soldiered on with her own amazing grace. She is survived by her daughter, Ann Jablonski (George Macheel); her son, Rick Jablonski; grandson, Nathan Macheel; sister-in-law, Helen Swann; nieces, Mary Beth and Mary; and nephews, Keith, Peter and John. She was preceded in death by her beloved grandmother, Mary (Wood) Francis; her parents, Alfred and Winifred Dow; her husband, Leo; her friend, Stanley; and by many other family members and friends. The family wishes to thank HospiceCare and the staff at Clarebridge of Middleton for their kindness, humor and devoted care during the last months of Marion's life. You all made a big difference to her comfort and happiness, and ours. Marion will be inurned with Leo at Bushnell National Cemetery at Bushnell, Florida. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorials may be sent to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Wisconsin or to the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center Fund through the UW Foundation to support stem-cell research. "And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days..." James Russell Lowell.