Marilyn Jean Moritz

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our mother, Marilyn Jean Moritz (Lauffer), born on April 12th, 1933. She was 92 years old and died peacefully in her sleep on June 3rd, 2025.

Marilyn was born in Hudson Ohio, moved to Columbus, and graduated from North High School in 1951. She attended 2 years at Ohio State University, where she was a member of the Delta Gama sorority. Her first job was Secretary to the Finance Chairman of the Ohio State House of Representatives. She married Charles Roger Moritz and they moved to Europe, where Roger was stationed at Brize Norton Airforce Base from 1957-1959 (which is where Greg was born). They moved back to Dayton in 1959 and raised their children in Oakwood.

Marilyn traveled all over the world with John Rudwall, her cherished partner for over 40 years. She was a voracious, and excellent tennis player and competed in many tournaments. Marilyn & John were an unbeatable mixed doubles team!

Marilyn loved to laugh and would laugh frequently. She had a beautiful and infectious smile. She also had an incredible sweet tooth! It was rumored she could polish off an entire 1 pound bag of M&M’s herself! In her final years, we kept her well stocked with DLM’s Killer Brownies and Esther Price candy, which she loved!

Marilyn was an active mother while her children were growing up. She was a gifted Brownie and Girl Scout leader, always the home room mother and attended all their competitive sports, cheerleading events and music concerts, supporting them along the way.

Marilyn was a teachers aid at the Orchard Park elementary school for years and later moved to Arizona to continue teaching in Tucson at the Pusch Ridge elementary school. She continued teaching into her late 70s. She loved teaching young children. When asked what accomplishment she was most proud of, she responded, “Teaching and raising my three wonderful children and watching them grow to become productive adults”.

Marilyn loved being a grandma to Terri’s children Chad and Erin, spending time playing in the pool in their Alabama home, many Christmas celebrations and dressing up her grand dog Baily.

Marilyn moved to Phoenix to be with her daughter Karen, where they had many wonderful adventures. One of the most memorable was going to see Cher in concert! Marilyn followed Karen back to Dayton in 2018.

Marilyn is survived by her two daughters Karen Sue Moritz and Terri Lynne Visintainer (Moritz), along with her two grandchildren Erin Leigh Visintainer and Chad Andrew Visintainer. She was preceded in death by her beloved son Gregory Roger Moritz, her life partner, John C Rudwall, and her parents Leola Lauffer, Walter Lauffer, and her brother Dale Lauffer.

Our family would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people of Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton for the extraordinary care they provided to Marilyn.

We now sadly have to say goodbye to a wonderful mother, grandmother, woman, and companion. We will miss her, especially her smile and laughter. A visitation will be held from 4:00 to 5:00 PM on Saturday June 21, 2025 at Routsong funeral home at 2100 East Stroop Road, Kettering, OH, with a service/Celebration of Life to follow at 5:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton or Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton.