Visiting: Tuesday 2-4 & 7-9 PM
Mass: Wednesday 9:30 AM @ Saint Patrick's Church
Cemetery: Saint Charles Cemetery (Farmingdale, NY)

- - - - - - COMPLIMENTARY VALET PARKING AVAILABLE - - - - - -

Marie-Denise Marcel was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on May 24, 1947. She was the third of three girls and had two younger brothers. My mother would tell us stories of living lavishly as a child in Haiti, having parents who were a part of Haitian society and the Saint Geraud name carried weight behind it. At some point in her childhood, her parents lost their wealth and times became darker. Her parents were casualties of Papa Doc Duvalier's regime and they met an untimely death. My mother was devastated. She moved to New York City fearing for the life of her family. She left alone to be a nanny, leaving behind two daughters and a husband in 1968. After working very hard, she was able to secure green cards for her family to come to New York and join her in 1971.  She sacrificed a lot to be here during those years alone, worrying about her toddlers and her husband's safety and life condition. As time passed, my mother saved money and brought her husband, Pierre-Marie Marcel, and her two toddler daughters, Lourdes-Marie Armande Marcel and Marie-Andrée Frederique Marcel to New York City. But she didn't stop there. She helped her two brothers emigrate and she helped her brother-in-law bring her sister and two nephews and niece to the United States.

Shortly after Pierre-Marie's arrival, a third child, Gina Marcel, was born in 1971 shortly followed by Pierre-Richard Marcel in 1973. Denise really believed in education and told her children regularly that an education was the key to success.  Catholicism was also very important to her, and her children attended Catholic schools as long as she could afford it.

Denise worked in the fashion industry up until 1985, when the industry was depleted and moved overseas. Traveling to Secaucus, New Jersey, she would dress so fashionably. She was beautiful and always well styled. She took pride in her appearance up until her very last day, even wearing full dress and light makeup to take the garbage out. When the industry ended, my mother did two things that were noteworthy: She volunteered to go to serve on the American Military Bases in Guantanamo to translate for the thousands of Haitian refugees who were being housed in camps there. She came back after months of being away from her family, reporting that she was able to help all her clients gain entry into the United States, guiding them on the best ways to honestly tell their stories, for all of them needed amnesty. My mother knew this too well. The other thing she did was work at Bendiner & Schlesinger as a lab technologist. She always enjoyed medical science and had she had a different start in life, she would have probably been a pharmacist or chemist. This was a good fit. She retired after working there for more than 20 years.

Denise was dedicated to her family but nothing compares to her commitment to her grandchildren. Beginning with Joshua in 1983 and then Kevin, Sammy, Tiffany, Vinny, Lawrence, Edberto, and Alexander in 2013. She loved them all with everything and gave them everything. Her grandchildren experienced unconditional love, had access to unlimited life lessons, and knew no matter the discussion, she loved them with everything.

Denise is survived by her sisters, Gladys Polynice and Mireille Imperial, and her brother, Rosario Saint Geraud. Also, her children Lourdes-Marie Armande Clinton and her husband Jason, Marie-Andrée Frederique Marcel, Gina Marcel Dominguez and her husband J. Juan Dominguez will miss her dearly. Finally, her husbands, Pierre-Marie Marcel finds comfort in knowing she is now in heaven with her son, Pierre-Richard Marcel and her brother, Louis Saint Geraud.