Marie Diane Fetterolf

Marie Diane Fetterolf, 79, of Lavelle, entered into eternal peace Thursday, surrounded by her loving family, after a two-month battle with cancer.

Marie was born Feb. 20, 1938, to Russell and Marie Hoffman, Lavelle.

She attended Butler schools.

Marie married the love of her life, William Fetterolf, on June 3, 1958. He preceded her in death in 1998. They had three daughters together, Cindy (Susie), Amy and Wendy and a very special friend who was like a son to them, Dave Kessler.

In her earlier years, Marie worked for Gitman Brothers at Ashland Shirt Factory.

Marie dearly loved her husband, who was her "rock" and her true love, and her children, but she also dearly loved her animals, which were also like her children.

Marie had many horses and dogs throughout her life and dedicated much of her time to making sure that they had the best life possible. She loved riding her horses and taking many trips to horse shows throughout the East Coast, where she made many friends that shared that same passion.

Her young children and her husband were always by her side at the horse shows. Her love of horses shone through and was shared with many of their "horse friends," and many of her and her husband's lifelong friendships were developed and celebrated at the weekend-long events.

If anyone was looking for Marie, they knew where to find her: with her horses! She took pride in showing off her Tennessee Walking Horses and also took pride in her daughter's Clydesdale, Nick, who could be seen courting the grand marshal in local holiday parades.

Marie also loved the outdoors, having picnics at World's End State Park, going to Knoebels with her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, taking motorcycle rides on the back of her son-in-law, Tom's, Harley, going to her favorite place to eat, May's, and really anything to do with road trips and the outdoors with the ones she loved. She would spend all of her free time running errands with her daughter, Susie, and with her sister/best friend in the entire world, Judy. Her relationship with her sister, Judy, was a bond that could only be broken in death, and was the shining light in every part of her day.

Marie's husband, Bill, had built by hand their horses' home, a beautiful barn and her most recent endeavor was helping her daughter build a brand new barn for their horses, of which she was very proud. She truly enjoyed the simple things in life like family, friends and pets, things that we should all enjoy every day and not take for granted. She always put everyone's needs before her own, a value she passed on to her children.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; an infant brother, Charles; a grandson, Bobby Wolfgang; many horses that she will be riding once again in Heaven.

Marie is survived by her sister, Judy Mattern and her husband, Dan, Lavelle; three daughters, Cindy (Susie) Wolfgang, Lavelle, Amy Francis, Lavelle, and Wendy Yacko, Danville; a very special grandson whom she and her husband raised, Russ Weikel, Ashland; grandchildren, Suzanne Wolfgang Bressi and her husband, Darvey, Paxinos, Amy Fetterolf, Lavelle, and Andrea Francis, Phoenix, Ariz.; great-grandchildren, Alivia, Alexis, Alana, and Amare; nieces and nephews; her two fur babies whom she loved dearly, a German shepherd named Sarge and a Jack Russell terrier named Lilly.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Church of the Nazarene, Route 901, Lavelle, with Pastor Jeremy Smallwood as the celebrant. Visitation for friends and family will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hillside SPCA, 51 SPCA Road, Pottsville, to any other dog rescue of your choice or to the Central PA Horse Rescue, 100 Spanglers Road, Lewisberry, PA 17339. Kull-Heizenroth Funeral Home Inc., Ashland, is in charge of arrangements. Visit www.kullfuneral.com.

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