Marilyn G. Mendeloff

Marilyn G. Mendeloff

El Paso - Obituary for Marilyn Mendeloff

Marilyn Gottlieb Mendeloff, 88, passed away on Wednesday, July 29th in Austin, Texas. She was beautiful, kind, loving and cherished by everyone who knew her. Although she discovered many of her artistic talents in later life, she was creative in so many ways and had a love for learning, traveling, cooking and gardening. She lived life to its fullest and had a great sense of humor, but her greatest joy was spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Marilyn was born to Harry and Rae Gottlieb in Matamoros, Mexico in 1932. Just six weeks old, she emigrated to Brownsville, Texas with her parents and two-year old sister, Irene. The family later moved to El Paso in 1938 where she grew up. She attended El Paso High School and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was there she met the love of her life, Jay (pre-deceased), and after they were married, they moved back to her hometown of

El Paso. They had three beautiful children, Gary Mendeloff (Linda), Jan Reed and Renee Abramoff (Bob). Together, they created a household full of warmth, laughter and endless memories.

An ardent gardener, Marilyn founded the Vista de la Cruz Garden Club, was one of the first members of the West Side Rose Society of El Paso and was an active member of the El Dedon Verde Garden Club for many years. She studied flower arranging for 15 years and won many blue ribbons for her creations. Because of her exquisite floral centerpieces, her table settings were the talk of the town. Her friends all coveted an invitation to one of her dinner parties because they knew the food would be as delicious as the ambience was glittering. Her flair for entertaining was incomparable.

In addition to her many talents, Marilyn became a professional calligrapher and owned a wedding invitation and stationery business for several years. She continued to study calligraphy every summer for 15 years at the prestigious Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

Marilyn's love of art led her to be a docent for the El Paso Museum of Art in the '60s. The knowledge she gained there piqued her interest in the fine arts, and at the ripe young age of 71, she pursued painting in oil. Landscapes were her favorite subject. She attended art classes at UTEP for many years and studied under the mentorships of renowned El Paso artists Nina Walker and Rosario Ponte. She exhibited at art shows all around town and sold several of her paintings.

Besides her many creative interests, Marilyn had a love of learning and was a member of several civic organizations including the Pan American Roundtable, Tom Lea Group, El Paso Archaeological Society and the History Club. She was also the Sunday School librarian at Temple Mount Sinai for many years.

She is survived by her three children; grandchildren Stacy Shapiro (Buck), Dr. Kellie Reed (Steven Blustein), Jared Mendeloff (Stephanie), Miles Mendeloff (Melissa), Hayley Abramoff and Melanie Abramoff; great grandchildren Brooklyn, Reed and Cash Shapiro, JB Blustein and Riley Mendeloff; and her beloved sister Irene Oppenheimer, plus numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband Jay, she was pre-deceased by her grandson Ryan Mendeloff and her best friend of 60 years, Judy Rothbardt Bargman.

Marilyn will be buried at Temple Mount Sinai Cemetery in a private funeral service on Monday, August 3rd with Rabbi Ben Zeidman officiating. Donations in her memory may be made to Temple Mount Sinai (templemountsinai.com).