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1921 - 2006
 Age: 85
DENNER, Yolanda V.
Marcelletti
Paw Paw
Passed away Saturday morning, March 25, 2006 at White Oaks in Lawton. Yolanda was born March 16, 1921 in Chicago, IL the daughter of the late James and Lucy (Scotese) Marcelletti. Yolanda lived in this area all her life and was a graduate of Paw Paw High School and attended Maher Business College. She worked for the Paw Paw Schools for 10 years as an aide. She was a long time member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Paw Paw and served as Eucharistic minister. She was a member of the Prayer and Novena Group, Kalamazoo Diocese of Widows and Widowers, member of the Mattawan Senior Citizens, and the Lawton Senior Citizens. On June 1, 1946 in Paw Paw, Yolanda was united in marriage to Edward A. Denner who preceded her in death on July 4th, 1993. She was also preceded in death by two brothers, Pat and Frank Marcelletti and a sister, Philomena Marcelletti. Surviving are 2 sons, Peter (Shelly) Denner of Battle Creek, MI, Edward (Julie) Denner of Holland, MI; daughter, Patricia (Mike) Denner-Condron of Saugatuck, MI; brother, Rudolph (Esther) Marcelletti of Paw Paw; 2 sisters, Florence (Bob) Joachim of Marine City, MI and Betty (Dave) Brown of Richland, MI; 4 grandchildren, Seth, Luke, Jason and Aaron; 2 sisters-in-law, Arlene Marcelletti and Noma Marcelletti. Family will receive friends Monday 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. at the Adams Funeral Home, Paw Paw where a vigil service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Paw Paw with Rev. Fr. Robert F. Creagan celebrant. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Paw Paw. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southwest Michigan (Van Buren County) or White Oaks, Lawton. |
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There are currently 5 condolences.
Pete Denner
petedenner@aol.com
Monday April 17, 2006 at
12:08 PM
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OUR MOM MARCH 16, 1921 – MARCH 25, 2006
Most of you have known Yolanda as a sister, aunt, neighbor or friend. My Sister Pat, Brother Ed, and I have been fortunate enough to see her as all that plus she was our Mom. Growing up with Yolanda as our Mom was always interesting. Living on Marcelletti Subdivision and spending a lot of time at the Marcelletti Farm, we sometimes thought the world consisted mostly of Grandma, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Even though our Dad’s family lived close by in Kalamazoo, we spent most of our time with Mom’s family. Dad even seemed to prefer it that way. He loved Mom’s family.
Mom didn’t really have a lot of hobbies. When we were younger she enjoyed sewing. She also tried knitting for awhile. She loved our garden and a yard filled with flowers that she and Dad planted and tended. She always loved God and the Church. In her later years both before and after Dad’s death she became an avid card player and enjoyed being with her card playing buddies several times a week.
The love of Mom’s life, that occupied most of her time until she suffered her severe stroke two years ago, was her family and friends. These relationships were the most important thing in the world to her. The cement for these relationships was food….and Mom was a great cement maker! The food growing up was out of this world! Our Grandma was a great cook and Mom certainly kept up the tradition. Mom’s cooking was as good as or better than Grandma’s except for one dish that Mom couldn’t quite replicate, and that was Grandma’s ravioli. I think Mom gladly deferred to Grandma on that one dish. Everything else was amazing…The spaghetti and meat balls, lasagna, pasta and peas, eggplant parmesan, gnocchi, and oh yeah….pasta fagioli. In the weeks before her death, those were Mom’s favorite words, pasta fagioli!!! Anyway, the list could go on. It’s a wonder we don’t all weigh a ton.
Mom was so generous with everyone around her. No one could out give her. If you ever brought anything over to our folk’s house, you always left with more than what you came. When Mom baked pies, she would always make two, one for us and one for company to take home. Mom planned it that way and always promised she would bake more pies soon…a promise she always kept. We would always get at least one of the pies except when Mom’s cousin, Johnny Scotese came over. Somehow both pies would always leave with Johnny. He would usually come back though, in a couple hours to drop off a block of provolone or chunk of summer sausage. I know Mom loved playing this game with Johnny. Another game she loved was to be a gracious host. Whenever you went to a restaurant with Mom, you could rarely pick up the tab. Usually Mom won the battle over the check, except our Aunt Florence could put up a pretty good fight. It was great entertainment to watch those two women standing up in a restaurant wrestling over the tab.
That’s only a glimpse of Yolanda, our Mom, a woman of great faith and generosity. My Brother, Sister, and I could go on for hours with stories about her. But now it’s time to celebrate her life both old and new. I know Mom is happy to have shed her old worn out body and trade it in for a new one that’s even better than the one she had when she was young. I know she’s so relieved to have all her faculties back including her physical stamina, quick wit, and contagious laughter. In the last few weeks before her death Mom could not get it into her head that Dad was long gone. She claimed several times to have talked to him. Mom told our Cousin Carol our Dad was building their new home and she was looking forward to starting their new life together. So now Mom is with Dad and he’s getting all the good cooking again.
Thank you Mom! We love you and we’ll see you soon! Have the ravioli ready when we get there OK! We know it will be as good as Grandma’s by then….
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Mike and Nita Wolf
nwolf4@juno.com
Monday April 3, 2006 at
12:18 AM
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We just read in Sunday's paper about Aunt Yolanda. Please accept our sincere sympathies. I wish we could have read it sooner as we would have been at the service. We remember her as a very statuesque and lovely lady who had a warm smile and was always interested in everyone around her. Mike says she was the best Italian cook he knew.
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Susana
Tuesday March 28, 2006 at
1:10 AM
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I didn't know Yolanda for a very long time, but the time she spent with us at White Oaks was wonderful. She could always put a smile on everyones face, no matter what she did.(Pasta Vazul) She will truly be missed at White Oaks. May she rest in peace.
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Christina Griffin
griffinr@wmich.edu
Monday March 27, 2006 at
11:03 PM
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I was saddened to see Yolanda's obituary in Sunday's paper. I remember her well from our days working at Cedar Street School. She was always very cheerful, kind and helpful. Yo gave me a wonderful recipe for meat balls which I will make some day soon in her honor.
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Barbara and Frank Lucente
Sunday March 26, 2006 at
9:11 PM
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We will always remember Yolanda because of her warmth, her laughter, and her hospitality. Yolanda had a laugh that resounded with joy and there was no way that you could not join in laughing with her. She seemed to always be happy and she made others feel that way also when they were in her company. Yolanda would light up a room with her presence and she would lift everyone's spirits with her exuberance.
When she saw you coming, she would rush over to you and hug and kiss you as if you were the prodigal son/daughter. She could never feed you enough and she always offered her home to you in which to stay.
Yolanda will truely be missed. May she rest in peace.
With Love,
Barbara and Frank
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