Marjorie Ann (Yake) Zepernick

Marjorie Ann Yake Zepernick, age 90, passed away peacefully on March 24th, 2024 at Ohio Hospice House of Dayton after a brief illness. Marjorie (Marj) was born on 6/13/1933 to Fred Yake and Katherine Yake in Ashtabula, Ohio, where she enjoyed tagging along with her beloved older brother, Bill, swimming in Lake Erie, playing with her friends in the ravine at the end of her street and roller skating in the basement of their clapboard house. After graduating from Ashtabula High School, Marjorie attended St. Luke’s School of Nursing to fulfill her dream of being a nurse and became an R.N. in 1952. She started her career as an ENT nurse, spent some time as a nurse in the O.R. and then settled into her love, psychiatric nursing, spending most of her career at Miami Valley Hospital until her retirement in 1991. In March of 1958 Marjorie met James (Jim) Zepernick in Columbus and they enjoyed a whirlwind courtship, were engaged for 6 weeks and married on 9/20/58. They went on to have 3 children, Victoria, Richard and Elizabeth, along with many beloved pets. Marj and Jim spent their careers and child-rearing years in Dayton, Ohio until retirement took them to Wilmington, North Carolina, where they spent 18 years enjoying the warmth, southern living and many visits from their children and grandchildren. Marjorie is preceded in death by her parents, her brother, infant sister and her husband of 50 years. She is survived by her children Vicki (Michael) Cornely, Richard (Barbara) Zepernick and Elizabeth (Kevin) Kraska; grandchildren Lauren, Katie, Rebecca, Joel, Maggie, Samantha, Mitchell, Julian and Josie as well as step-grandchildren Stephanie, Tiffany, Adrian and step-great grandson Kieran, life-long friend Loverda and many other friends and extended family. Marj loved to travel and spoke often of her bike trip across Europe in 1955, her travels with Jim to Hawaii, Europe, Las Vegas and the USVI and her trip of a lifetime to Kenya, Africa in 2004 at the age of 70. Marjorie was an avid reader, wrote several books including her autobiography, and volunteered countless hours to several organizations in the Wilmington area. Her love of animals inspired her to engage in animal rights activism and support multiple humane organizations in an effort to reduce cruelty to animals. She remained an active member of the Faith Presbyterian Church community in Huber Heights upon her return to Ohio in 2009. Most of all, Marj loved her family and was especially delighted by all of her grandchildren. Marjorie had a determined strength, a dry wit and a soft heart. She was fiercely loyal, generous, pragmatic, and certainly made the world a better place through nursing, her love and support of animals and her commitment to her family. The last line of her autobiography reads “Do an act of kindness in my name and I’ll rest easy”. A memorial service will be held at Faith Presbyterian Church in Huber Heights, 5555 Chambersburg Rd., Dayton, Ohio 45424 on April 20th, 2024. The family will receive guests at 10:30 am with a service at 11:00 am and a reception immediately afterward. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Dachshund Rescue of Ohio or Faith Presbyterian Church in Marjorie’s memory.