Marie Atlee's Obituary
Marie Atlee (nee Sirolli) passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 3, 2022 at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees with her family by her side. Born in Philadelphia to Vincent and Beatrice Sirolli, Marie was 75 years old. She was a resident of Marlton for the last 45 years.
Beloved wife of 49 years to Kenneth D. Atlee. Loving mother of Kevin (Emily) Atlee DMD, and Darren (Melissa) Atlee. Cherished grandmother of Nico, Darren, Michael and Joseph. Sister of Beatrice (Robert) Negro, Nikki (James) Badessa, Veronica (James)Cappelli and the late Vincent (Patty)Sirolli. Adoptive mother of Darren (Maria) DeGeatano.
She was the perfect opposite and compliment of her husband Ken. They loved being with each other and surrounded themselves with friends who felt the same. With his book smarts and her street smarts they could have been billionaires if they went into business together. Instead, she put her love and energy into supporting him and raising two nearly perfect sons. Kevin was her first born and favorite and Darren was her real favorite, of which Kevin is perfectly ok with. She was her sons’ biggest cheerleader and supporter. She taught them family comes first, to stand up for themselves, and that your brother is your best friend. Hers sons blessed her with two daughters in law, Emily and Melissa, who she loved as her own children.
She forgot all about her precious sons after they gave her grandchildren. The Triplets and Joey could do no wrong. They were never bad at MomMom’s house, the most handsome boys to ever live and the best at anything they’ve ever done. She had no problem telling anyone, even if it was some other boy’s family. In front of the other boy.
Her sisters Ronnie, Nikki, and Sister were her best friends. She’d call Ronnie to talk about Nikki, Nikki to talk about Sister, and Sister to talk about Ronnie. Then play dumb when they would ask her what the other one said. How the four of them got thirty people to not only live together but love living together is a testament to their love for each other.
To her many nieces and nephews she was known as ReRe. They all wanted to be her favorite and thought they were, but the real favorite is written down somewhere secret at 129 Cresse Ave. . But she stipulated that you had to be paid up in order to look for it.
Marie enjoyed playing cards with the Gucci Girls: Joanne, June, BettyAnne, Babe, Aggie, Pat, Renee, Patty, and the late Joann and Cathie. She instilled in her sons the importance of friendship and how to be a good one. When you were her friend you were her family.
She especially loved being with her family in Wildwood where she lived with all of them every summer since 1975, starting with 15 people to more than 30 now. Her perfect day would have been a casino inside the shore house, playing poker with her friends and family, while drinking an ice cold Kettle One martini with one olive. Marie was the life of the party and her and Ken would offer their home to host holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, even a wedding.
She was tough as nails, not afraid to speak her mind or champion the underdog. As she would say to her sons, “I wear the black hat, your father wears the white hat”. She had a soft spot for those in her life that had had past or present pain and hardship, and loved them more not in spite of it but because of it. She was always dressed sharp. As the bookkeeper for the Wildwood house all of her toughness disappeared and she was woefully inadequate at collections, falling for every sob story there is.
To those that loved her it will be hard to imagine the world without her. Remember her when you laugh with your family, win a scratch off lottery ticket, have an ice cold cocktail, or win a hand at cards. She will be missed.
A gathering of friends and family will be held on Friday, September 9th from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Givnish of Marlton, 398 E. Main Street and again on September 10th from 9:30 am to 10:30 am. Her Funeral Mass will follow at St. Joan of Arc Church in Marlton at 11:00 am.
She loved flowers and her favorite charity was her family, so if you want to send flowers, go big!
To share your fondest memories of Marie, please visit www.givnish.com
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