Marlene Winifred (Rettew) Dove

Marlene crossed over to the next life on March 29, 2026, after a brave battle with dementia. Born October 5, 1931, in Springfield, Massachusetts to Bill and Winnie Rettew, she enjoyed an adventurous life. Growing up during WWII with her brother Bill, Jr, she was a polio survivor as a young child. Her love of movies was born when she ushered at the Court Square Theater in Springfield, meeting numerous Hollywood actors and actresses who came to town promoting war bonds and amassing a large collection of autographs and stories. She graduated from Technical High School in 1949.

In 1951, Marlene moved with her parents to California and settled in the Bay Area pursuing her love of acting in community theater. She married Vern Dove in 1952 and moved to Los Angeles where, to her delight, she met even more movie stars. Daughter Lori came along in 1958, and Marlene decided to be a stay at home mom. Marlene and Lori were constant companions, thrifting, going to movies, playing and Lori moved north again where she worked in the newly developing Silicon Valley. In 1977, a move was made to Fredericksburg, Virginia where Marlene and Lori joined her cousin Betty Yarbrough to open a gift shop and two colonial restaurants. There began a love of history and antiques.

After moving to Lancaster County Pennsylvania in 1993, Marlene worked for Wentworth Publishing Company before retiring in Strasburg, moving to Stouchsburg in Berks County and eventually having her own apartment at Long Community where she lived for several years with her cat Lucky. She moved to Mount Hope Nazarene Retirement Community in 2021 where she felt loved and well cared for. Throughout her battle with dementia, she never lost her love of life or sense of humor.

Throughout her life, she was a very talented artist with a love for portraiture. She was fond of painting actors and actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood as well as commissioned portraits of people and pets. One of her greatest achievements was a commission to paint every cast member of Gone With The Wind for the foremost collector of that film’s memorabilia.

On a personal note, my mom was my best friend. She raised me with honesty and integrity, passing along her wicked sense of humor, her creativity and passion for life, her love of animals, travel, old movies and food, of course antiques. I will always miss her deeply.

In addition to her daughter, Marlene is survived by her nieces, Kathy Rettew Black (wife of Fred) and Janie Rettew, nephew David Rettew (husband of Jennifer) and their families, as well as her grand-dog Flynn and grand-cat Fionna. She was preceded in death by her brother Bill and sister-in-law Barbara Rettew.

A celebration of life will take place at Mount Hope Nazarene Retirement Community, 3026 Mount Hope Home Road, Manheim, PA 17545, on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your local animal shelter or the Dementia Society of America/donate">Dementia Society of America, 188 N. Main St, Doylestown, PA 18901.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to all the staff at Mount Hope for their loving care throughout the past five years. It means more than you will ever know.