Marilyn Butler Sciortino, age 93, of Daytona Beach, Florida, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend, passed away at her home in Daytona Beach, Florida on December 17, 2024.

Marilyn grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, with her younger sisters Katherine (Kay) and Margaret, with whom she would maintain a joyfully close bond throughout their lifetimes. She graduated from Birmingham Southern University and later received her master's degree from Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University. She served in the American Red Cross in Korea, was a pioneering educator for the Georgia State Board of Education, and was an adjunct professor of special education at the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1962, in Atlanta, Georgia, she went on an improbable blind date with Joseph Sciortino, then a regional sales manager for the H.J. Heinz Company. On that first date, Joseph informed her that he intended to marry her, which he accomplished within six months. It was the start of an epic, 45-year love story.

Marilyn was a devoted mother. Her son John was born in 1965, and daughter Marybeth followed in 1967. And she was an adoring grandmother to her six grandchildren, Nicholas, Xander, and Jenna, and Jay, Joseph, and Peter, all of whom adored her right back and miss her dearly.

Marilyn converted to Catholicism on the occasion of her son's first communion and truly lived her Christian faith. Although she and Joe gave generously to worthy causes throughout their lives, and indeed will continue to support them through a charitable foundation they founded and funded, Marilyn in particular always had an intimate, hands-on approach to the less fortunate. She was a Eucharistic Minister and visited the elderly in nursing homes and brought them Communion for decades. She volunteered for the needy at the Catholic Church of the Epiphany food pantry in Port Orange well into her 80s, until she was no longer physically able to do so.

Marilyn was blessed to inspire the dearest, most loyal friendships over her entire life. She was cherished by her family and friends alike for her kind and generous spirit, fortitude, sparkling intelligence, and mischievous sense of humor, none of which ever fully failed her even in her final days.

Marilyn is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Bryan Herndon, of Benton, Arkansas; her daughter and son-in-law Marybeth and Craig Bluhm, of Winter Park, Florida; her son and daughter-in-law John and Lisa Sciortino, of Kensington, Maryland; and her grandchildren Nicholas Popkin, Xander and Jenna Bluhm, and Jay, Joseph, and Peter Sciortino. She is also survived by cousins, and numerous nieces and nephews, including Janie Sciortino, with whom she was especially close in her final years. She was predeceased by her parents, C. Vestal and Nell Butler, her husband Joseph Sciortino, and her sister, Kay Tusa.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Catholic Church of the Epiphany Food Pantry, care of Catholic Church of the Epiphany, 201 Lafayette St., Port Orange FL 32127.

A funeral mass will be held at the Catholic Church of the Epiphany, 201 Lafayette St., Port Orange, Florida, on Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 11:00 a.m., to be followed at 1:00 p.m. by a brief ceremony of Christian burial at Daytona Memorial Park, 1425 Bellevue Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Thereafter, Marilyn's family will hold an informal reception of remembrance at 2:00 p.m. at Giuseppe's Steel City Pizza, 3658 S. Nova Road, Port Orange, Florida.