Marlene Ruth Genosko (née Justice)
Born December 15, 1935, Marlene was the apple of the eyes of her adoptive parents, Mary Ruth (née Harrison) and William Morris Justice, of Willowdale, Ontario. Marlene grew up on the corner of Byng and Willowdale Avenues, in a distinctive two-story house, with her father’s picture-framing workshop downstairs. Although an only child, she had many cousins with whom she played throughout her childhood and remained as close as siblings throughout her life. She had a beautiful voice and took part in many singing competitions with her school choir. As a young woman she also enjoyed ballroom dancing lessons. Music remained a deep love of hers and all of us remember her singing along (and dancing) to her favourites such as Celine Dion, Anne Murray, or Rita MacNeil on the radio. After graduating from Earl Haig Secondary School, Willowdale she commuted to downtown Toronto to work as a secretary.

Through her best friend (also named Marlene!) she met Ernest Karl Genosko a recent immigrant from Germany, who she recounted as being handsome, soft-spoken and kind. They married in 1955 and built their own home at 27 Clark Avenue in Thornhill. For the first few years they roughed it, bringing water from her parent’s house in Willowdale until utilities were installed in their neighbourhood! With the births of sons Gary (1959) and William (1965) thus began Marlene’s career as a sports mom! Marlene was active in bowling leagues and swimming, and she enjoyed rooting for her boys in their baseball, swimming, and hockey endeavours. She instilled in her sons, and in her subsequent grandchildren, a loyalty to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although she witnessed the Leafs win 10 Stanley Cups, she had been waiting in vain since 1967 for them to win another. All of us remember her sitting in her chair on game night, tea and chips nearby, scolding her beloved players for their poor performance.

Marlene adored her five grandchildren Hannah and Iloe (Gary and Rachel) and Liam, Elijah and Ivy (William and Mary Jo). She was always one of those Grammas who got right down on the floor to play with them. In addition to the time she spent with her children and grandchildren, an amazing highlight of Marlene’s life was being found by her sister Sandra Patterson when the two women were in their 60s. Both women had the same birth parents but were adopted separately as babies. Seeing these two very similarly petite women meet and laugh identically for the first time was an amazing thing!

Marlene also had an impressive working and volunteer career that extended through her entire life. She retired from Design Air in Thornhill in 1986 but soon began volunteering at the lottery desk in York Central Hospital, Richmond Hill. When she and Ernest moved to Winnipeg to be close to family, she kept busy working for Manitoba Lotteries in the Super Store directly behind their house. After her beloved Ernest’s death in 2006 she moved back to her hometown of Willowdale and began her volunteer career in the gift shop of St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital, Sunnybrook, where she kept working until age 84 when only the pandemic lockdown could force her to stop. We were all so proud of her when she recently received notification that had won 2022 Ontario Volunteer Service Award for her excellent work in Ontario Hospitals over so many years. Tiny (at 4’10”) but mighty and fiercely independent, Marlene got her wish to live her whole life in her own home!

Marlene, who left us to be with Ernest (1932-2006) and William (1965-2022) on June 18, 2022, will be greatly missed by her family and friends.