Marlene Rada

Date of Birth

Jun 18,1943

Date of Death

Jun 18,2019

Marlene (Dodd) Rada, age 76, of Erwin, TN, passed away Tuesday morning, June 18, 2019, at Erwin Healthcare Nursing Home in Erwin, TN.
She was born June 18, 1943, in Elburn, IL, to proud parents Lewis and Irene (Schleifer) Dodd. Born the middle child of three sisters, Marlene completed the trio of Sandra, Marlene and Lonna. She grew up in Elburn and attended local schools graduating from Kaneland High School with the class of 1962.
Marlene was united in marriage to Richard Fink and together they had two children, Faith Ann and Eugene Orville. After seven years, Richard and Marlene went their separate ways. In time, Marlene was blessed to find love again when she met Ervin Rada. They were united in marriage in 1978, and Marlene gained his two children, Jim and Shelley. Marlene and Ervin built a home in the country just outside of Elburn where Marlene grew a large ¼ acre garden; large enough for all the vegetables she canned.
From a young age, Marlene was a hard worker and would sometimes work two or three jobs on any given day. Before retiring in 1998, she worked for Richardson Electronics and on evenings and weekends she worked banquets at the Lincoln Inn in Batavia. After some long nights, she still woke up with dawn to help Ervin clean offices as his second job.
When Marlene retired, she and Ervin moved to Hudson, Florida. The heat and the lack of garden space brought an end to Marlene’s gardening. But, still keeping her hands busy and in touch with nature, she took up flower arranging and sold them at the flea market.
After Ervin passed away in 2003, Marlene moved to Tennessee to be closer to Faith and Mark, along with her other family there. Still a true Elburn native at heart, Marlene made many trips back to visit family and friends. Her life of vacationing was always spent in the passenger seat, so when she had to travel alone later in life there were some very interesting drives.
Marlene worked hard all of her life and often did not take any time to “smell the roses”. The family and friends around her were what gave Marlene the strength to keep pushing and work as hard as she could. Now, the memories they made will be retold in the stories to younger generations and she will be missed, but not forgotten.
Marlene is survived by her four children: Faith (Mark) Henrikson, Eugene Fink, Jim Rada and Shelley (Ken Coupe) Rada; her sister, Lonna (Jerry) Schmidt; her nieces and nephews: Kelly (Schmidt) Durbala, Kevin Schmidt, and Jim (Elizabeth) Schmidt; four grandchildren: Stephanie (Mathew) Schumaker, David Henrikson, Joshua and Dylan Coupe; three great-grandchildren: Elijah and Bristol Schumaker, and Jaden Winchel; as well as five great-nieces and nephews: Dominic, Ben and Abbie Durbala, and Kailey and Brady Schmidt.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Lewis and Irene Dodd; her husband, Ervin Rada; her sister, Sandra Barnes and her first husband, Richard Fink.
A visitation will be held, Tuesday, June 25, 2019, from 1:00-3:00 p.m., at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL. A service of remembrance will follow at 3 p.m. Interment will follow at Blackberry Twp. Cemetery, Elburn, IL.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Elizabeth Ludeman Center, 114 N. Orchard Dr., Park Forest, IL 60466-1297.

A visitation will be held, Tuesday, June 25, 2019, from 1:00-3:00 p.m., at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL. A service of remembrance will follow at 3 p.m

Interment will follow at Blackberry Twp. Cemetery, Elburn, IL.

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