Marvin Pitluk

May 16th, 2014

Through my dear friendship with Zach, I have had the good fortune to know many of Marv’s children over the years, and met Marv on several occasions. From our conversations, I could tell the love and pride he felt for his family, and I know that he will be deeply missed. May his memory be for a blessing, and with my deepest sympathies, Jeff Brodsky

~Jeff Brodsky
~family friend, Pittsburgh, PA

May 14th, 2014

Back in the mid-1970s, I think for 2 or 3 years, maybe even more, Marv used to pick us up every evening from our after-school daycare at the YWCA. He and Sara did a very kind favor taking care of us each night while our dad went to law school at night. Marv would faithfully pull up in front of the Y in his tremendous convertible. We thought it was so huge and luxurious (although we probably didn’t use the word luxurious yet). My sister Erin and I would sit in the back seat and sing – he would turn on the radio for us (or possibly to get some better musical selections than the vocal renderings of 6 and 7-year-olds!). He would take us home to their house in Winnetka and we would play with the Pitluk dogs at the time, Cocoa and Henry. We were allowed to do all kinds of fun stuff, like playing on the awesome wooden tree fort in the backyard.

Marv always had a quiet, soothing, calm tone when he spoke. Sometimes he would sing for us – he had a beautiful voice! He was kind to us always and it made me smile when he would call us, “Little chickens.” I remember so well sitting at the big dining room table with Marv and Sara and Tim and sometimes Michael having dinner all together. Once in awhile Marv would bring a huge array of Chinese food home for dinner, which I thought was so exotic and sophisticated! (Cocoa the dog got quite a few treats offered to her under the table, though – certain sophisticated dishes were a bit too exotic for a 6-year-old palate).

I knew Marv mostly as a little kid because Dad got remarried and eventually finished law school and then we moved far away to North Dakota. Sadly, I didn’t see him very much after that, but he was always interested in how my singing career was going. We both loved to sing! He was definitely a positive influence in my early formative years. He and Sara gave us the gift of stability and kindness during a tough transition time after our parents got divorced. With their constancy and nurturing, they both helped us heal and I will be forever grateful for that. Thank you, Marv, wherever you may be now. Love always, Seana

~Seana Fisher
~Step-granddaughter, Cheshire, CT