September 18, 2019
Marlenys Rojas-Reid in front of her artworks

From Marlenys Rojas-Reid’s family:

Marlenys Rojas-Reid died September 4, 2019 in Winter Park, FL after a courageous fight against cancer. She was a loving and compassionate wife, mother, and “Mimi” to her grandchildren.

Marlenys was born in Venezuela and moved to Central Florida as a young adult, along with her son Daniel. In 2008, she married her husband Tim. She was passionate about learning and received a Master of Arts Degree from Asbury Seminary in Christian Ministries and Evangelism, a Master of Science Degree from the University of Central Florida in Sociology, and was in the process of completing a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Central Florida in Studio Art. She worked as a Web Designer at the Center for Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida for over 20 years.

Marlenys was committed to excellence and to initiating frank discussions, both in her art and her personal life. Her artwork addresses topics such as domestic violence, sexism, and racism. She was a faithful member of Calvary Orlando church, dedicating countless hours to prayer, sharing words of encouragement, and mentoring other women. It was her passion to share the love of Jesus, both at home and abroad, and she participated in two missions trips to China and two to Northern Ireland. Her enthusiasm for life and fun was evident in the hundreds of Lego building sets and minifigures she collected, along with her common refrain, “you’re never too grown up to play.”

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 21 at 3 pm at Calvary Orlando Church in Winter Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Generation Student Scholarships at the University of Central Florida.

Marlenys was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Maritza, and brother Alcides. She is survived by her husband Tim, her son Daniel, daughter-in-law Kimberly, her grandchildren Isaac and Emberlyn, her sisters Angelica, Nina, Aura, Iris, Grisell, her brothers Juan, Rafael, Henry, and several nieces and nephews.

Remembering Marlenys Rojas-Reid, photos of Marlenys and her artwork below.

Photo of Marlenys Rojas-Reid in front of her artwork.  Photo of Marlenys Rojas-Reid talking about her artwork.

Photo of Marlenys Rojas-Reid talking about her artwork.  Photo of Marlenys Rojas-Reid's artwork.