Obituary of Marie Catherine Roop

Marie Catherine Risley Roop, 82, of Punta Gorda, FL and Ocean City, NJ, passed away on April 17, 2021. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Marie and Russell Risley, Marie was the older sister of Dorothy Nagle, Loretta McDermott, and John. Marie married her high school sweetheart, David Edward Roop, also of Philadelphia, on June 24, 1961. She is survived by David as well as her five children, Susan (Brian), David (Anna-Marie), Paul (Lisa), Stephen (Jennifer) and Christopher (Tammy), and sixteen grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters, Dorothy Nagle (Richard) and Loretta McDermott (Neil), and brother John Risley (JoAnne). Marie was absolutely beautiful with a big smile and the bluest eyes; she was warm, classy, smart, and funny. Her special abilities were in recognizing the passions, talents and qualities of others, and in encouraging their development, she helped make people better than they had been. She had an uncanny memory. She was an accomplished chef, bridge and tennis player and made everything fun! She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, and was dearly loved by everyone who knew her. Marie was a volunteer for decades at Villa Maria Orphanage of Timonium, Maryland, rising to President, and, in her retirement years, a volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society. She loved international travel, garden club, the beach, family gatherings, dancing, any card game, coffee, playing Words with Friends, orchids and red wine. Guided by strong faith, joie de vivre, and natural hopefulness, Marie believed in “mind over matter” and had grit, which served her well in her hard-fought, four-year battle against ovarian cancer. In Marie’s final week she thanked everyone for having given her a wonderful life, and said, “I will always love you.” A Celebration of Life will be held in July 2021, in Ocean City, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Betty Allen Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, 13300-56 S. Cleveland Ave., Ft. Myers, FL 33907, www.gyncancerfl.org/.