Marilyn Seitz

Marilyn Ann “MeMe” (Karasek) Seitz, a devoted, loving and attentive mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and friend died peacefully in her Niles, Michigan, home Thursday, July 16, 2026, at the spectacular age of 90. She lived a rich and full life of love, adventure, and generosity that touched everyone she met.

Born June 17, 1936, in Dowagiac, Michigan, Marilyn was the second of nine children born to James and Sally (Bradakis) Karasek. She spent her younger years tenaciously tending the farm, providing loving care for her younger siblings and spending summers working in a Valentine Card factory. She graduated from Dowagiac Union High School in 1954 before attending Western Michigan University. Marilyn was teaching in a one-room schoolhouse when she met her future husband, Darwin Dean Seitz, on a blind date. She married Darwin July 5, 1958, and began her married life in Niles, Michigan, where she welcomed her five children – Kevin, Kimberly, Stacy, Brandi Lynn and Andrew. She spent the rest of her life at the warm and welcoming home she and Darwin created on Huntly Road. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and two siblings, Carolyn Goodman and Karen Jean Gowan.

She enjoyed riding her Honda Gold Wing with Darwin and spending time with family and friends, and cherished annual camping trips with her children. A stay-at-home mom, Marilyn was the quintessential room mother happily juggling her five children’s homerooms and spending many years volunteering as a fortune teller at the Howard Elementary School Spring Festival. As her children got older, Marilyn began working for Sarah Coventry Jewelry, where her dynamic personality allowed her to excel in sales. Raising five accident-prone kids meant numerous trips to the doctor or emergency room for broken bones and stitches, so she parlayed that experience into a role as a founding volunteer for the Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service, where she served as an emergency medical technician and first responder for many years.

Other noteworthy accomplishments:

• As M. Seitz, in the 1970s she was the first female certified to referee high school and college basketball (although she never actually got to referee any games once officials discovered M stood for Marilyn!)
• Became a licensed daycare provider and opened “Marilyn’s Munchkin Manner” in the 1980s and provided loving home care for her grandchildren and numerous community children
• Completed the Iron Butt Association’s SaddleSore 1,000 when she, Darwin and some friends rode to Nebraska and back (1,000 miles) in 24 hours
• Was a decades-long volunteer at the Niles Haunted House/Scream Park, where she spent many autumns scaring attendees, taking tickets and washing/mending costumes
• Spent endless hours conducting genealogy research and traced the Seitz family back to the late 1500s and the Karasek family back to the 1860s
• Taught motorcycle safety for the State of Michigan for more than 15 years
• Volunteered for many years for Beginning Experience International Ministry
• After Darwin’s death, she lived a full life of adventure and travel that included: ziplining in Jamaica in her seventies; riding a motorcycle in the Swiss Alps; snowmobiling in West Yellowstone; white water rafting on the Ocoee River in Tennessee; attending the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Summer Olympics in Atlanta; sipping moonshine in Romania; visiting the Vatican; and salmon fishing in Alaska

Family meant everything to Marilyn and two weeks before her death she was surrounded by family and friends who lovingly celebrated her 90th birthday.

She is survived by her children Kevin (Laurie) Seitz of Gainesville, Georgia, Kimberly (Allen) Draugelis of Centreville, Virginia, Stacy Seitz of Niles, Michigan, Brandi Lynn (Roger) Mayer of Dowagiac, Michigan, Andrew (Heidi) Seitz of Raleigh, North Carolina; eight grandchildren, Christopher Blair, Matthew Seitz, Carl Seitz, Steven Seitz, Macy Dwyer, Callen Seitz, Lucas Seitz, Zachary Seitz; nine great grandchildren; and siblings, Margo (Allen) Younger, Eileen (Ray) Houser, James (Pam) Karasek Jr., David (Cherie) Karasek, Thomas (Lois) Karasek, and Chris (Dave) True.

Family and friends will gather Tuesday, July 28, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.in Halbritter Wickens Funeral Services, 615 East Main Street, Niles. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in St. Mark’s Catholic Parish, 3 North Nineteenth Street, Niles.

Marilyn will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband in Mission Hills Memorial Gardens.

The family prefers contributions in memory of Marilyn be made to St. Mark’s Catholic Parish, 3 North Nineteenth Street, Niles, Michigan 49120.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Halbritter Wickens Funeral Services, Niles. Please share a memory or a message online: halbritterwickens.com.