So Long, Marlene

Oh, Marlene....what will we do without you?  Our gal Marlene, banquet captain extraordinaire, has left us for greener pastures today. She worked hard and made us laugh harder. There are days I've worked with her that she has made me laugh so hard I had to walk away from her to collect myself. Every week, she asked me if I made her rich that week and every week I told her no, in fact, we are refusing to pay you at all. 'Cause that's how we tease.

Marlene started with the hotel in 2006 and indeed her hilarious antics and witty observations about life kept us all chuckling for many years. We celebrated her today over pizza and of course cake, and shared tales of her years with the Elms. Coworkers recounted how Marlene was so fond of wedding cake, she often volunteered to assist with cutting the cake during events and then used her wiles to figure out how to score a piece of it. We are, in fact, so used to her keeping us amused that it was particularly moving when she recounted how much the hotel meant to her and how working there helped her heal from the tragic loss of her husband several years ago.  

We wish you the best, Marlene...you will always be a part of the Elms family.  The title of this post is actually inspired by the Leonard Cohen song So Long, Marianne.  The following lyrics are from the song, but tailored to our gal..

Now so long, Marlene...its time that we began to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again...