Marjorie Helen Hilts Oravetz

Marjorie Helen Hilts Oravetz, was born to Cameron Warner Hilts, Jr. and Margaret S. Hodges Hilts, May 5, 1931, in Town of Augusta, NY. A fierce fighter to the end, she died, peacefully, on January 15, 2017 in Tucson, AZ of diabetes and cardiac complications joining her parents, her husband “Phil”, daughter Andrea Marie, and sister Kathryn.  After graduation from St. Francis de Sales High School in Utica, NY, and classes at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), Marjorie was employed at Oneida Community, General Electric, MVCC, Griffiss AFB, St. Peter’s School, Scotia Naval Supply Depot, and the U.S. Navy at Joint Base Andrews. Most of these jobs were in the accounting field. She met her future husband, Sgt. Theophil M. Oravetz, as a member of the Griffiss Ski Club of which she was a charter member and they married August 27, 1955 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Utica. New assignments saw them enjoying life at Chanute AFB, IL, Langley AFB, VA ,Griffiss A.F.B.N.Y.  and Laon, France. In her younger years Marjorie won a number of ice skating racing competitions, played trombone in the elementary school band at Our Lady of Lourdes, snow skied, and was an adept seamstress. In her later years she was an avid fan of the Washington Redskins, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ohio State, and the U.S. Naval Academy teams. She was a Lector and Eucharistic Minister at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for many years, a life member of NARFE, and held adult leadership roles in Boy Scouts of America.

Marge is survived by her three sons Michael, Patrick, and Thomas, grandson Mica, two great-grandchildren, Kayla and Kaiden, sisters Barbara Ashline and Shirley Hilts-Adams, an aunt, Helen Jennings, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. A memorial Mass will be held on  Friday, Jan. 20, 10 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales, 22^nd and S. Camino Seco, Tucson.  Interment will take place in the spring at Arlington National Cemetery.  Arrangements by MARANA MORTUARY.