Mary J. Zelinsky

Anyone who knew Mary Jean Zelinsky knows the drill. She would greet you with a smile and a hug that warmed you down to your bones. A couple of minutes together or a couple of hours, it didn’t matter. You’d leave her with your heart feeling lighter and your face muscles aching from laughing.

Mary, dear wife of the love of her life, Ken, for 53 years, left us on September 15, 2026 and took some of the sunshine with her. She was the daughter of Steve and Elizabeth (Elis) Kovach, a graduate of Maple Heights High School and Cleveland State University where she majored in education. She taught math in Sheffield Lake, worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate (a job with sweet benefits), and was the best-selling and award-winning author of Amish and suspense fiction written under her own name and the pen name of Mary Ellis. She is preceded in death by her parents and her aunt, Theresa Feher, and is survived by her niece Rena Strickland, and the honorary granddaughter she adored, Nora Rutledge (Caleb) as well as niece, Cheryl Strickland, and nephews Steven and Michael (Tammy) Strickland.

Mary opened her home and her heart to the dogs and cats who found their way to her, and inspired us all with her fighting spirit. She loved to travel, especially to St. Simon’s Island, Georgia to escape winter weather. She enjoyed tending her shade garden and the pots of colorful flowers that lined her deck, and she loved visiting Niagara Falls and riding on The Maid of the Mist. She was a woman of strong faith and was accepted into the Roman Catholic Church this past Easter, a proud member of the Mother of Sorrows community.

Family and friends will gather on Monday, September 21, from 5-8 pm at Waite Funeral Home, 3300 Center Road, Brunswick, OH 44212. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Mother of Sorrows Church, 6034 S. Locust, Peninsula on Tuesday, September 22 at 10 am. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery, 1870 Center Road, Hinckley.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s name to the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.waitefuneralhome.com.