By james art 
Marilee Heather Spadjian, wife of Richard, mother of Megan, Brooke and Sam and grandmother of Henry, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 30th. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in July 2021. In her final weeks, she was surrounded by the love of her husband, children and their spouses in their new home on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Marilee will be laid to rest with her mother, who she lost to breast cancer as a teenager, off the coast of San Diego in a private ceremony at sea.
Born in 1959 to Darren and Ann Yalian, she lives in San Diego with her parents, older brother Deran, and a constant revolving door of farm and domestic animals. An avid reader and writer, she majored in journalism at the University of Southern California, Fight On! Marilee’s life took many turns and she ended up on the East Coast in beautiful Marblehead, Massachusetts with the love of her life, Richard, and their three young children, Megan, Brooke and Sam. She lived for her children, a devoted mother who supported and protected them. They carry on her legacy and will remember her as energetic, generous and larger than life.
As the fearless leader of her family, she was always up for a challenge. For 10 years (2012-2022), she and her husband transformed The Inn at Weathersfield in Perkinsville, Vermont into a scenic getaway for families to make memories with delicious farm-to-table food. Before that, people were lucky enough to know Marilee through her other careers as a freelance journalist for The Tennessean, a custom home builder and cooking class host, all of which were inspired by her love of people and their stories.
In the past 14 months she has taken on a new job as ‘Mimi’. She was the best grandma to Henry, playing and caring for him even when she was suffering from her own illness. He will always know how much Mimi loved him.
She and Richard had a beautiful, vibrant life together and their love story was one for the ages. Every day they demonstrated their love for each other. They dance or kiss in the kitchen, laugh at their favorite show or go for long walks on the beach accompanied by one of their favorite dogs.
The family will continue to follow in her footsteps, carrying her memory with them every day.
To honor Marilee, please support by donating in her memory to METAvivor, a non-profit organization that funds vital research to help improve longevity and quality of life for patients with metastatic breast cancer (Stage 4) (metavivor.org).