Marilyn Roberts - The Village Common of RI

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Village Voices is the showcase of creativity by the members and volunteers of The Village Common of Rhode Island. We welcome submissions in all media: 2- and 3-dimensional art, creative writing, transformative ideas, crafting, and art collections. As important is the personal stories that accompany each submission.

See the guidelines for submission.

Marilyn Roberts

Marilyn: A Life filled with Art and Music, by family member Alan Friedman.

At work and at play, Marilyn Roberts filled her life with art.
Her professional career was in designing page layouts and production in publishing, specifically magazines. She worked with color, layout, design…even paper quality.
At home, she was always creating her own projects, sometimes paint, other times pen and ink, pastels, crushed paper and more. And always, always listening to her favorite music, usually jazz and blues. She frequented live clubs to hear her favorite performers. As she didn’t like being in crowds, she often sat in the back by herself enjoying the music. At home, music was always playing, creating the perfect atmosphere while she worked on a current project. She even made her own musical playlists from her favorite performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Bobby Darin, and Elvis. With earplugs gently placed, she passed peacefully... listening to Frank Sinatra.

Editor’s note: Marilyn Roberts, a member of the Providence Village, died in January of 2022.

I am grateful to her friends and family who contributed to Marilyn’s entry in Village Voices.

A remembrance by Christine DiNapoli “known by all as Chris and, of course, Thelma.”

I want to tell you about Marilyn's "silly" side, which she shared with me for 25 years. They're personal reminiscences I'll always have, but perhaps of interest to some.

When we met, we both lived in NYC, and worked together at Dell Magazines. Being cat people, we bonded quickly. Marilyn was the production manager, and I a crosswords editor (still am). About 12 years later, Dell was sold and Marilyn moved to Long Island to work for Barron's textbooks; I'd then moved to Long Island, and my mother and I would visit her often. My mom, Sophie, was always very "put together, upswept hair, jewelry and dressed to the nines. The first time Marilyn met her, she dubbed her Zsa Zsa, and from then on, till the day she passed, we called her Zsa Zsa.

Another time Marilyn and I were in a crafts shop, music started playing, and we began twirling each other around, lost in a shared world of laughter. We were always silly; the saleslady stood watching, open-mouthed. When we left the shop, Marilyn said these words that stayed with us till her passing.

"You be Thelma, I'll be Louise"--and from then on, we were. She was mischievous and fun-loving, and we were a match. Phone calls started with, "Hi, Louise, honey, it's Thelma," and we'd catch up with our lives.

When Dell Magazines was sold, Marilyn moved to Providence, and our friendship become a weekly phone call. Marilyn was an artist, and very much into galleries and art shows. She loved Providence and quickly became a part of it. Her cats Hooker and Gondorff had passed, and Bella, a beautiful Maine coon, joined Marilyn's household. When Marilyn learned she was ill, one of the first things she did was to arrange for Bella's ongoing care.

Because of the 400 mile distance, visiting her wasn't an option, but when Marilyn become ill, it became one. I'm so glad my nephew was able to drive me to see her before she passed. I entered her room, "Hi, Louise, honey, it's Thelma," and got the most beautiful smile I'd missed for so long. We had a wonderful visit, and my "Louise" passed on ten days later.

How I miss her.

Chris

The Providence Village newsletter in 2018 published an interview with Marilyn by Phil West. Marilyn told him that she “calls a friend every morning: ‘Just to let her know I’m alive. If anything happened to me, Bella has to be protected.’ For most of her life, she says, ‘I’ve preferred animals to humans. But that’s changing. I’ve been with the Village for almost two years, and I haven’t yet met anyone I didn’t like. It’s changing my view of humanity.’ ”

Editor’s note: Marilyn made provision with a cat rescue group long before her final illness. I've been told that Marilyn's sister received a photo of Bella's new person stretched out on a sofa with Bella on his chest, fast asleep.

“You are only as deep as what has been carved into you."

June 8, 2015. MR