Matriarch of Coral Gables

When people think of individuals who are inextricably linked to the 92-year history of the City Beautiful, Coral Gables’ founder, George Merrick, comes to the fore.

But the city’s heart and its grace for the past 65 years was a woman who had the pluck to venture here from a small town in Minnesota to seek her higher education degree in the early 1950s.

What Marlene Schulte Kerdyk found, in addition, was the love of a man who, with their son and her brother-in-law, would serve the Gables longer than any family. She would, in turn, earn the love and respect of a community.

“If George Merrick is the most known man in our city’s history, then Marlene Kerdyk is the most wellknown woman in our city’s history,” said Coral Gables Commissioner Frank Quesada.

Kerdyk, the attorney said, was “the backbone of all the Kerdyk men who were involved in shaping our city. At City Hall, we always called her the ‘First Lady of Coral Gables.’ ”

In fact, Kerdyk, who died Thursday at 84 after battling cancer, is the only individual in the city’s history to receive a 65-year service pin for her contributions, which included teaching, serving numerous groups, and supporting her husband, son and brother-in-law as they gave six decades of service, collectively, on the commission.

“That pin is the only one in existence,” Quesada said. “Any time you spoke to her she was always glowing and talking about her children and grandchildren. That always seemed to be the most important thing to her. Whenever you’d see her, you’d get a smile on your face.”

Marlene Kerdyk was “the most well-known woman in our city’s history,” said Commissioner Frank Quesada. Kerdyk was married to William Kerdyk who served on the city commission for 28 years. Their son William Jr. served another 20 and her brother-in-law Frank served for four years.

The Kerdyk family, meanwhile, had made the Gables home in 1940.

After she graduated from UM in 1957, she taught first grade at Sylvania Heights Elementary in Miami and met William Kerdyk. The couple wed that year and were married nearly 50 years, until the senior Kerdyk’s death in 2007 at 79 at the Gables home they shared.

“My mom was quiet and unassuming but really the pillar and strength of our family. She always put everyone’s interest first. However, when she spoke, we intently listened,” Kerdyk Jr. said.