It is with great sadness that the family of Marianne Catherine (Tate) Luongo announce her passing on Thursday, May 2nd in Waldron, Arkansas. Marianne was born on February 5th, 1944 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania to William and Mary (Menuchak) Tate. She loved God and her faith in the Roman Catholic Church was a guiding light and comfort to her throughout her life.
Marianne and her five siblings grew up in Ardmore, and later Havertown, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. As a child, Marianne was surrounded by her father’s large Italian family nearby and by her mother’s Ukranian family “upstate” in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Archbishop Prendergast High School in 1962 she pursued a course of study and training in X-Ray Technology at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. Marianne worked for many years as an x-ray technologist.
Marianne was married to her loving husband Michael Luongo for 52 years before he went on to heaven to wait for her. Though advanced dementia prevented Marianne from understanding where Michael had gone, she continued to look for and wait for the time they would be reunited. Together they raised their son and daughter. Marianne treasured her children and in later years, being “Mom Mom” to her five grandchildren.
Marianne was blessed with a close family of friends that she and Michael made in Waldron. She was watched over and cared for by the staff of Waldron Nursing and Rehabilitation, loving neighbors, and many dear friends from St. Jude Thaddeus Church.
Marianne loved to paint, do crafts, and tend her beautiful flower gardens. She enjoyed volunteering and helping to take care of her Church. She embraced all of nature but especially enjoyed spending time at the ocean. She loved to have her feet in the sand and to search the beach for special seashells to add to her collection. Mother’s Days were spent at the Jersey Shore, laughing, picnicking, and making family memories together at Marianne’s favorite place on earth.
Marianne leaves behind her two children; her son Mark and wife Robin of Castle Rock, Colorado and their children Colby and Ceejai, and her daughter Nicole and husband George Thompson of Underhill, Vermont and their sons Patrick, Simon, and Henry. Marianne is also survived by her sister, Barbara Coleman of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and her brothers William Tate of West Chester, Pennsylvania and Robert Tate of Havertown, Pennsylvania.
Marianne was preceded in death by her husband Michael Luongo, her parents, William and Mary Tate, and her brothers Theodore Tate and Richard Tate.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held to celebrate Marianne’s life at Saint Jude Thaddeus Church in Waldron, Arkansas on Thursday, June 20th at 10 am. Following that, her ashes will be interred in a ceremony at the National Cemetery in Fort Smith. Memorial and Cremation Arrangements are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Any memorial donations you may consider can be made to the Waldron Nursing and Rehabilitation’s Activities Department at P.O. Box 2230, Waldron, AR 72958-2230.
