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Absent Friends

Mark Steven Ritzenhein

Mark Steven Ritzenhein

Mark was born on October 18, 1958 in Saginaw, MI. He passed away on July 6, 2013, Okemos, MI, from a brain tumor at the age of 54. Mark is survived by his fully-beloved, 31-year lifetime partner and lawful spouse, Stephen P. Wilensky, M.D.

Always attempting swiftness, he beat his all-older siblings, Gary, Sharon, Suzanne, and persistent mother, Christine, to the grave. He leaves behind, regretfully, his closest and ever-dearest sibling, Kathleen, and her fiance, John Hartman. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Ritzenhein in 1985.

Mark wrote: "Love makes family, not bloodlines or legal decrees. Jane Wilensky, and her and Stephen's two sons, Jeffrey and Adam, their wives, Beth and Erin, and our grandchildren, Josephine, Leo, Thomas and Estelle, are my heart lineage. My sister-in-law, Linda Carter, her children, and brother-in-law, Dan Dowis, remain part of my heart family as well, along with Kathleen's children, Christopher and Kimberly Dowis, and Lisa Nikolai and her family.