Marilyn Brodnick of Leesburg, Florida passed away peacefully Friday April 21, 2023 in her apartment home at Lakeport Square. She was 96.
Marilyn had a lifelong love of travel and toured all over the world before settling in Leesburg nearly 30 years ago with her husband Jerome ‘Jerry’ Brodnick. Before moving to Leesburg, she and Jerry spent 7 years full-time on the road in a 32’ Bounder motorhome. They traveled thru every state in the union, all the provinces of Canada and even took their Bounder on a caravan-train through the Mexican Baja. But they loved their visits to Leesburg best and built a home there in Highland Lakes.
Following Jerry’s death in 1995, Marilyn moved to Lake Port Square where she met her fiancé of 20 years, Robert ‘Bob’ O’Donoghue. Together they were active in the Resident Council where Bob served as president for many years and Marilyn was his right-hand gal. It was Marilyn’s idea that residents at Lake Port should know when fellow residents moved up to the health center. She presented the idea to the administration, lobbied for it and was very proud to see it implemented.
Marilyn was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, to Grover and Eleanor Zimmerman Fugate. Her mom and dad were a highly successful sales team that traveled the United States from 1920 – 1950 taking her with them when they could and instilling in her the love to travel.
She and Jerry started their family in St. Louis but moved up to Park Forest, IL, where they stayed to raise their children. While in Park Forest, Marilyn worked as an account manager at Financial Federal Savings and Loan and also decorated the bank at holidays, as well as creating all the bank’s event art. Once their children were grown, they spent a few years living in the historic town of Coshocton, OH before taking the brave step to sell everything and move full time into their RV and live on the road. They never regretted it and Marilyn would often regale her friends and family with tales of their exploits and explorations. Later in her life she shared her sense of wanderlust with her family taking trips together to France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Panama.
Marilyn loved to sew and quilt and had a gift for design and organization. She put those skills to use volunteering for Angel Flight working in their office scheduling pilots and then making quilts for the patients that were transported on the flights. She also loved to dance almost more than anything. She was a graceful ballroom dancer, a skillful square dancer, a Clogger, tap dancer, line dancer and even took up Zumba later in her life. She and Bob spent many happy evenings at the Hawthorne dance hall. In addition, she was a talented water color artist and she learned sign language just because she could. She loved her years with her Red Hat friends often creating clever table decorations for their monthly lunches. Marilyn was a member of Morrison Methodist Church.
Marilyn is survived by her three children and their families, Donald (Monica) Brodnick of Cedarburg, WI, Barbara (Anthony) Andrade of Grant Park, IL and Kenneth (Naomi) Brodnick of Chicago Heights, IL. Marilyn had four grandchildren, Kyle Brodnick, Richard (Michelle) Arthur, Jr; Sarah Hillary (Joshua Richardson) Brodnick, Philip (Sarah Kathryn) Brodnick, and their two boys, Fox and Oliver Brodnick, who were Marilyn’s great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Patsy (Brodnicki); niece, Kathy (Rick) Kilfoy, and nephew, Paul (Joy) Schaya; and nephews, Greg (Deb) Broadneck, Dean (Dorothy) Brodnick, Derek Brodnicki, Chris Brodnicki and Kevin (Kathleen) Brodnicki as well as her longtime Lake Port friends, Pat Linfield, Wilma Braun, Alice Harrison and Shirley Stone, and her trusted caregiver and companion for the past year, Creah Fishley.
Besides her husband, Jerry, and her parents, she was preceded in death last June by her fiancé. She was also preceded in death by her sister and brother-in-law, Flora Mae and Joseph Schaya; brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, Roy and Marvel Brodnick, and Bernard Brodnicki, as well as her son-in-law, Richard Arthur, and her nephew, Scott Brodnick.
Marilyn will be laid to rest beside her husband on June 1st at 10:00 am at the Lone Oak Cemetery. Later that same day, there will be a celebration of life at Lake Port from 2-3 pm. Memorials in her name to Shriners, Angel Flight or MacularSE.org, would be an honor to her family.
