LEE + RO offers our condolences to Marian’s family and friends and former colleagues, and I speak for the entire LEE + RO family, past and present when I say that we will miss our good friend.
From the time I stepped into the LEE + RO office to the time she retired, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Marian. She corrected my wrongs and praised my rights. She was fun, sassy, and a true perfectionist when it came to her work. I will forever miss her. Rest in Peace My Friend.
Crystal Thomas
I have been working with Marian for 20 years. She always had so much life and energy. She was such a strong worker and was passionate about the way things should be done. She had the best style and grace. She would always be dressed so nice and always had the best jewelry. The love for her daughter and grandchildren was shown and she would talk about them often. I am glad that she moved up north and was able to spend some time with them. Marian was a pleasure to work with and I will miss her dearly.
Kelly Mardorf
For many years as a pillar of the engineering support group, she quietly produced hundreds of project specification documents. She was one of the few colleagues who closely followed and often suggested improvements to the company procedure manuals. Marian and I are in the same age group and privately we shared stories about life. It is sad to lose her so suddenly!
Steve Ro
I only had the opportunity to interact with Marian three times but those were enough to know that she was such a caring and thoughtful person. I thought of her often because I use pencils, markers, and the desk she used to use. She will be deeply missed and will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Jung Park
Marian was a caring coworker who remembered the little details. She had a warm and welcoming presence and made a point to make everyone feel special. She was a born storyteller! She would have funny anecdotes from her time at the gym or going to plays with her daughter. She introduced me to Cal Shakes (an outdoor Shakespeare program). She loved spending time with her family and talked about them often! I feel blessed to have known her!
Claire O'Brien
I was shocked and saddened to learn about the passing of Marian. I had the privilege to work with her for a short time. Marian was full of energy and a perfectionist she taught me well. She will be greatly missed. Thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
Claudia Almaraz
Marian was such a fun, full of energy person. I always loved seeing what she was wearing or what new jewelry item she had on, she had the best style! She was so knowledgeable and passionate about her job, she always made sure everything she did was perfect and nothing less. Marian will be missed but never forgotten.
Thalia Villalpando
She was the model Engineering Administrative Assistant for a firm like ours. Tremendously organized and meticulous. Having worked at Jacobs Engineering, a large engineering firm for many years prior to joining us, she knew our trade and our needs more than anyone I know of. She was a master in specifications preparation and also a great help in keeping the deliverable production workflow in order. Marian was unafraid to criticize us when things were not done in a proper manner, a rare asset for me personally. I had tasked her to train our newer staff in teaching the documentation format for all deliverables - from simple letters and transmittals letters to complex technical reports. Her teaching and guidance helped us maintain the document standards firmwide. She was a dedicated worker, working long hours and weekends whenever the jobs demanded.
She was tremendously proud of her entire family, specifically her daughter and grandkids, and would enthusiastically discuss their progress. Outside of the job duties where she excelled, she was a person with varied interests and really lived life. She was a literature buff and one could discuss any current topic. She was a fan of Terry Gross’ “Fresh Air” on NPR and being a fan myself, I was pleasantly surprised by her depth of culture and awareness of life topics. Her passing came suddenly and unexpectedly. A true star, we will surely miss her. May she rest in eternal peace.
Dhiru Patel
Before Marian was my friend she was my first supervisor, and from the start, Marian was all business. We got to know each other as we comb-bound 500-page tech memos and talked about our families, the work, our frustrations, and our triumphs. We commiserated over the copy machine and hole puncher, toiling away into the late hours of the night when we were left alone to produce 23 hard copies of final drawings and specs.
In her, I saw a great team player who not only was willing to do the unglamorous, hard work that is the underpinning of this business — but someone who was committed to developing reliable and repeatable procedures, and demanded that we do the same. Marian raised our game, not only through her hard work and skills but by asking of us the things that we should’ve been already asking ourselves. She made sure that regardless of our individual job titles, she held any and all of us accountable and made us responsible for our words and promises.
Even as my own role changed and Marian was no longer responsible for my work, I always relied on Marian for advice and to tell me the unfiltered truth — not because she’d tell me what I wanted to hear, but because I knew her commitment to living her truth meant that I could always depend on her honesty. After all, isn’t that what real friendship is about?
Charles Ro