Obituary of Marlene O. Gaines

Marlene O'Neill Gaines Marlene O'Neill Gaines, 66, of South Plainfield died Friday, October 19, 2012, at JFK Medical Center in Edison. Born September 11, 1946, in Buffalo, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Harold and Marcella O'Neill of Carlisle, Pa. Marlene lived the nomadic life of an Army brat before her father retired in 1961 and the family settled in Carlisle, where Marlene finished high school. Marlene knew at a very early age that she wanted to be a teacher. In 1968, she graduated from Shippensburg College (now Shippensburg University) with a BA in elementary education, and married Bob Gaines that July. The newlyweds moved to Reading, PA., where Marlene taught 6th grade and received her M.A. in elementary education from Kutztown University. In 1978, Marlene and Bob moved to South Plainfield, N.J., and Marlene went to work for Middlesex County probation as an investigator in child support in 1979. She was a supervising probation officer for the State of New Jersey court system in both Middlesex and Union counties, continuing to teach by mentoring her team and colleagues. She retired in 2008. She is survived by her husband, Robert Gaines of South Plainfield, N.J.; sister Claudia O'Neill of Carlisle, PA.; her two dogs, Charlie and Pluto; stepbrother Steve Dee and his wife Gaby of Bethlehem, PA.; stepbrother Tim Dee and his wife, Carol, of Denver, CO.; and sister-in-law Kathryn Welsh and her husband Daniel of Orlando, FL. Visitation will be held Tuesday, October 23, from 7-9 PM at McCriskin-Gustafson Funeral Home, 2425 Plainfield Ave., South Plainfield. In honor of Marlene's lifelong devotion to dogs, the family is asking that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) or the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).