Marilyn Ann Wagenseller, of Annandale, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 7, 2022, following a brave and heroic battle with pancreatic cancer.

Born Marilyn Ann Wlosinski on December 2, 1949, daughter of the late Estelle Czarnomas Wlosinski and Maryan “Frank” Wlosinski in Irvington, NJ, she was raised in Irvington and graduated from Irvington High School in 1968.   Her favorite times as a child were fishing, crabbing, and spending time on the water at the Jersey Shore, activities that continued with her throughout her adult life.

As a young wife and mother, she raised her two sons, Brian and Jason, in Piscataway, NJ, later moving to the hills of Hunterdon County once the boys were grown and had begun their own adult lives.

Before embarking on her 33 year career with the admissions department for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, later becoming Rutgers Medical School, Marilyn began her professional career working with the FBI.  She enjoyed the time she spent during those years in the admissions department, allowing her the ability to help young people pursue their passions and goals of becoming doctors.  So many of them over the years would be sure to stop and say “Hello” and thank her as they saw her in the halls of the medical school.  She made a lasting impression on them as she did with anyone she met.  Though recently retired, she would continually speak of her time with her coworkers and the students fondly and with great admiration.

Marilyn was passionate about cooking and her talent in the kitchen was legendary! Famous for many dishes, especially her matzo ball soup, but the one recipe that has spread far and wide was her recipe for cherry cookies, traditionally made at Christmas.  She was a terrific gardener and had a natural green thumb.  She also loved birds, birdwatching, and was an avid nature lover.

She enjoyed traveling and got to see many places across the United States and throughout Europe later in life, including her family’s home in Poland.  Her favorite place to spend time once a year was in the Florida Keys where she could be outside engrossed in nature, fishing, walking the 7-mile bridge, watching glorious sunsets, basking in the warm weather and enjoying delicious seafood dinners on the water.

She believed in traditions and those traditions translated into so many warm memories for her friends and family – going down the shore, special meals at birthdays, her famous shrimp for Christmas, Carvel Cake at most gatherings, betting her favorite numbers on the roulette wheel, cheering at a Super Bowl watch party, and so many more.

Above all though, it was her time with her two sons, Brian and Jason, that brought her the most joy.  She loved to laugh and never laughed more than when she was with her boys, especially when all three of them were together.

Marilyn was a very thoughtful person.  If she knew you liked something special, she would make sure any time she saw those special things that they found their way to you. It did not have to be a holiday nor a special event, but she did these things, “just because”. She was always thinking of others and putting them ahead of herself, even as she navigated her final days on Earth.

An extremely kind and generous person who loved her family and was a loyal friend to so many, Marilyn was very hard working and determined in all aspects of her life.  She never gave up on someone or something that was important to her, she had a strong value system.  She was a fighter, particularly the last several weeks of her Earthly life, making her family so proud.

She was loved by so many and will be missed by many more.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her baby brother, James Wlosinski and a nephew, John Winslow.

Surviving are her older brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Marion Winslow; her sons, Brian Wagenseller and his longtime partner Susan Makowski and Jason Wagenseller, along with his partner, Sarah Rohlfing; her granddaughter, Avery Estelle Wagenseller; her nieces and their spouses, Susan and James Radlinski and Kathy and Jonathan Glass; her former husband, Jay Wagenseller; several extended family members; and many dear friends.

Most especially though, she is survived by and will be missed by her life partner of over thirty years, Joseph Peters, with whom she traveled the world and shared many mutual interests, especially the outdoors and fishing. The couple truly lived life, making countless, wonderful memories together.  She found in Joe someone with similar beliefs and values, someone who truly complimented her and with whom she was able to pass into Eternal life in peace, knowing he would one day be with her in a place where there is no pain or suffering, but only light, hope, and peace.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Msgr. Randall J. Vashon will take place on Friday, August 19, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church, 500 US 22, Bridgewater, NJ 08807, under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Everyone is kindly requested to meet directly at the church on Friday morning at 9:45 a.m. Kindly follow the instructions of the Wright & Ford Care Team Family Ambassadors upon arrival.

Interment will be private at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 125 Central Avenue, East Orange, NJ.

You are encouraged to visit Marilyn’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Center for Hope Hospice and Palliative Care “Peggy’s House”, via mail to 1900 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076, or online by clicking HERE. The family is forever grateful for the love and care the staff provided to Marilyn in her final days at Peggy’s House.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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