Marlene Y Carhart

Marlene Yvonne Carhart
November 2, 1936 – January 20, 2023

Marlene Y. Carhart, of Cheltenham Maryland, passed away on January 20, 2023 at the age of 86. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Joseph Carhart. Marlene was born on November 2, 1936 in Youngstown, Ohio, to the late Dominic and Dorathey Chianese . She and her two sisters Margaret Decker (Vernon) of Jackson, MS and Virginia Taft (Tim) of Youngstown, OH were raised within a large, boisterous, and loving extended family. The stories of cooking for so many at every holiday have become family lore and many of the recipes have been handed down to the current generation. Perhaps those years of helping cook for so many contributed to the bounty of leftovers that eventually filled all our refrigerators.

She fed everyone, but she did more than that. Marlene nurtured people. She leaves behind two children, daughter Christina O’Brien (Michael) and son, Dominic Carhart (Crystal Chambers) who already miss her deeply. She was the mom who volunteered at school, baked cookies, and had hot chocolate waiting for the post-snowman-building warm-up. More importantly, she always had time to listen. She gave good advice, whether you wanted to hear it or not. She had that “mom look” that let everyone know she meant business.

She helped raise a number of children. There were Easter Egg Hunts and so many get togethers with the neighbors who were like family. Her years as an in-home daycare provider simply enlarged her extended family to include the parents who looked to her for advice and the kids who called her Aunt Marlene or NeNe. She was also a volunteer foster mother for babies
awaiting adoption through Catholic Charities. There was no baby she couldn’t calm. She was an active parishioner at Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland since 1972. She taught CCD for many years and was especially fond of teaching second grade, where she prepared students to receive the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion for the first time.

The light of her life was her grandson, Christopher O’Brien. His younger years included an unexpectedly large number of lightsaber fights, kitchen hockey games and games with his Grammy. In later years, she loved watching him play soccer and wanted to hear all about his adventures and achievements. Anyone who talked to her for more than five minutes knew all
about him and saw his pictures.

 Some people impact many lives in small amounts and others impact a handful of lives in profound ways.  Marlene deeply touched her family, daycare kids, and others around her by her kindness and love.  Her life can be summed up in the Saint Francis quote: “Preach the Gospel at all times.  When necessary, use words.”  Through Marlene’s example, she has left this world a more loving place.”

In addition to her children and sisters, she leaves behind many nieces, nephews, God-children, neighbors and friends. Marlene will be remembered on Thursday, February 2. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church
St. Joseph Center
11700 Duley Station Road Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
11:00 am
Visitation before mass beginning at 9:30

The church will livestream the service through their website:
https://www.mostholyrosarychurch.org/
and Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/mostholyrosaryparish
Graveside service immediately following at
Resurrection Cemetery
8000 Woodyard Road
Clinton, MD 20735