Marian Anna Petlow

Marian R. Petlow of Toledo, Ohio, age 75, peacefully passed away October 5, 2017 in her home in the presence of family and friends after fighting a serious battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer diagnosed accidentally at tile Cleveland Clinic in April, 2016. The family is grateful for the excellent care provided by Dr. Richard C. Phinney of the Toledo Clinic, Oncology Department, and the wonderful caregivers at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg. She was born to Milan and Anna (Yurkovich) Relitch on August 11, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she grew up. She graduated from the John Bartram High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society and played on the tennis team. She then graduated from Hahnamann Hospital School of Nursing and Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also graduated from Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Anesthesia in Baltimore, Maryland. Over her 40 year nursing career she practiced in Oakland, California, was a nursing instructor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Her credentials allowed her to practice as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in Baltimore, Maryland, Toledo, Ohio and wherever else she chose to work. Marian led an active life from playing tennis in her earlier years to cycling and exercising at various health clubs and the YMCA. She skied at Steamboat Springs, Colorado and at Alta Winter Sports Area in Utah. While cycling in Yosemite National Park, she saw a golden brown bear feasting on apples near the boardwalk she was on. She swam with the seals in the Galapagos Islands and enjoyed exercising and spinning with her friends at the Southwest YMCA. Marian was a world traveler, visiting the old Soviet Union, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Egypt, Greece, Canada, Turkey, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, England, Germany, Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Chile, Argentina, Panama and the Caribbean Islands. After retirement in 2007, she continued to travel both in the U. S., Europe and South America. She spent many happy hours in Zihuatanejo, Mexico and Put-in-Bay, Ohio with the Kahlers and friends. As late as June of this year, Marian took the Viking River cruise from Budapest, Hungary to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Marian's travels included to Mount McKinley in Alaska, to the wild west shows in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Durango, Colorado, to Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, to the serenity of Rockwell Lake Lodge in Michigan, to the stately Green-Meldrim House in Savannah, Georgia, to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, and the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Florida. Add to that her activities from attending the Toledo Symphony Orchestra's concert in Carnegie Hall in New York City, to the formal Christmas Dinner at Rutherford B. Hayes' home at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio, to the formal dances of the Cotillion Balls in Toledo, to our National Parks, to the sunrise over Mount Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii--Marian had a full and beautiful life. She enjoyed volunteering at the Toledo Animal Shelter, the Humane Society Retail Store and the Toledo Botanical Gardens. She loved attending, the Mud Hens games, University of Toledo Women's Basketball games, Broadway plays and the Toledo Opera. Marian hosted several Red Hat parties in Iler home for her lady friends, hiring a Santa Claus for them to sit on his lap and tell him how good they had been that year. She met her husband on the ski slopes of Killington, Vermont where they enjoyed downhill skiing. They also cross-country skied at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. She married James J. Petlow on June 10, 1979 at the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. The wedding reception was held at the Hampton Mansion in Towson, Maryland. Her husband and daughter, Ann E. Petlow, of Toledo, Ohio survive. She is also survived by her sisters, Dorothy Alloway, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, Lillian Holden, Canberra, Australia, and Kathy Curtius of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Marian was preceeded in death by her parents and her father and mother-in-law. Marian donated her body to the University of Toledo, College of Medicine. The family will receive friends after 1:00 P.M., Saturday, October 21, 2017 at the Bersticker-Scott Funeral Home, 3453 Heatherdowns Boulevard, at South Byrne Road, Toledo, Ohio. A celebration of Marian's life will follow at 3:00 P.M. The family suggests tributes in the form of contributions to the Toledo Animal Shelter, the Valentine Theater or a charity of donor's choice. Please view and sign Marian's condolence page at www.berstickerscottfuneralhome.com.

Visitation Details

Saturday, October 21st, 2017 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Bersticker-Scott Funeral Home

Service Information

Saturday, October 21st, 2017 3:00pm, Bersticker-Scott Funeral Home