Marilynn Taffel

Marilynn Taffel was born on January 11, 1937, to Bernard & Ida Heller in Brooklyn NY. After
tragically losing her older brother Samuel, Marilynn, at the age of 16, stepped in for her
distraught mother and became a surrogate to her younger brother, George.
The beautiful Jackie Kennedy look-alike spent the 1950s as a popular bridal wear model,
before walking down the aisle for real on November 29th, 1959 with Elliott Taffel, also from
Brooklyn NY. Together they had 3 children, Stan, Jodi & Cindy, to whom Marilynn was a doting
and loving mother.
Marilynn’s beauty was paralleled by a caustic wit, deadpan sense of humor and wild repartee,
evidenced by the fact that after marrying a man with 3 sets of double letters in his name, she
decided to add an extra “n” to her own.
At a time when women were expected to be content with the title of “suburban housewife,"
Marilynn defied convention by working side by side with her husband to create their own
business ventures. Beginning with a wildly successful pizza restaurant (not typical for a nice
Jewish couple), they parlayed that success into their 1st gas station and ultimately owning a
chain of front end repair shops.
On the home-front, Marilynn followed in the footsteps of her own mother, who, in the 1930s
supplied underprivileged children with simple necessities like free shoes. Marilynn’s altruism
saw her doing things like buying a graduation cap and gown for a child who couldn’t afford his
own, and offering her own wedding gown to a young woman who otherwise wouldn’t have had
one.
Among the many hats she wore, Marilynn used her considerable language skills as a French
and Spanish language translator at the United Nations and The Empire State Building in New
York City. All this from a woman who never even graduated from high school. Not content with
that stigma, this busy business woman and mother of 3, still took it upon herself to get her
GED at the age of 40.
But her proudest achievements were watching all 3 of her children surpass both of their
parents by graduating from college.
Marilynn transitioned into immortality where she was surely met with open arms by her mother,
father and brother on April 6, 2022, in Pompano Beach, Florida.
She is survived by her husband, Elliott, her son Stan & his wife Deva, her daughter Jodi, her
daughter Cindy & her wife Robyn, her brother George and a plethora of nieces, nephews and
lifelong friends.

Professional arrangements by:
Gary Panoch Funeral Home
6140 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33487

561-997-8580
www.gpanochfunerals.com

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