Marjorie Roberto Hope

Marjorie was born August 19, 1926 to Helen and Carl Hope in Canton, Ohio. Marjorie graduated from Canton McKinley High School on D-Day, June 6, 1944.  For a time in the 1940s, Marjorie lived in a Marlboro cottage with husband J. Ronald Brown, with no running water, electric, gas or insulation. The next 11 years Marjorie spent as a wife and mother, having her first two children, Cathleen and John.  In 1956, Marjorie met Marcus Roberto, from Ravenna, Ohio. Cathleen wanted to marry him and John wanted Marcus for a Daddy. Marjorie was thrilled to gain a large Italian family which included eight of Marcus' siblings. They had two children, Elizabeth and Marcus Jr. The family moved to a strawberry farm on Summit Road in Ravenna Township where they enjoyed "Little Italy" with several of Marcus' siblings and his mother living on adjacent properties.  Marcus and Marjorie were active in the United Methodist Church of Ravenna, and Marjorie volunteered at "Friendship House" a Christian ministry in the neighboring community of McCelrath. At a summer Lakeside Methodist conference, they were challenged to "Do something impossible" by church leadership. With friends Lee and Mary Jane Hope, and other members of the church, they chose the impossible task to run water and gas utilities to the communities of Skeels and McCelrath. In the 1960s, those were segregated communities and areas of extreme poverty. Perhaps Marjorie's prior experience living without electric, gas and water provided the conviction for this new ministry.  After many trials, strong opposition and a great deal of prayer and persistence, the Methodist ministry team persuaded the church membership to mortgage the church building for $40,000 in order to deliver utilities to Skeels and McCelrath. The Lord answered prayers in abundance, as He is in the habit of doing, when the US Federal Government committed the funding required to deliver the utilities to the residents of Skeels and McCelrath, and the church funding paid for the resident's utility connections.

Marjorie's husband, State Senator Marcus A. Roberto, passed away in 1986, and Lee Hope's wife, Mary Jane passed away in 1985. Lee Hope and Marjorie remained friends, and that friendship blossomed into a marriage in 1988. Lee and Marjorie moved to the Copeland Oaks retirement community in 1994 and enjoyed a wonderful marriage filled with family, friends and world travel. Marjorie's last chapter of life ended as it began, with the name Marjorie Hope.  Marjorie passed from this world suddenly, the evening of June 15, 2015, at the age of 88. She donated the physical body she left behind to medical science, just as she donated it while using it in this world, for the benefit of others. Marjorie demonstrated what being a follower of Jesus Christ is all about - loving your neighbor as yourself. Marjorie was also preceded in death by son John, son-in-law Richard Rufener, and step-daughter Becky Hope. She is survived by husband Lee Hope, daughters Cathy and Elizabeth (Jeff), son Marcus (Natalie), Daughter-in-law Kathy Brown, Step-son Grant (Patty) Hope, Son-in-law Joe (Kathy) Kasper, 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren who adored her.
 
 A memorial service for Marjorie is planned for 1:00 PM, Thursday, July 30, 2015 at the Copeland Oaks Chapel, 800 South 15th Street, Sebring,
Ohio. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Copeland Oaks Foundation, Life Care Fund. Friends may send condolences and sign the guest register online at www.grfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements are by Gednetz-Ruzek Funeral Home Sebring, OH (330) 938-2526.

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