Marvin & Monika Fenyves' Medical Expenses

Marvin Fenyves, a beloved follower of Jesus with a larger-than-life personality, lost his battle with COVID-19 on September 20. After testing positive in August, he spent his last two weeks immobilized in ICU on a ventilator, separated from his wife, Monika, also ailing from COVID.

Marvin and Monika ran a small business together that sells packaging products.

Monika has been at home during this whole ordeal. We have put together this GoFundMe to help defray their medical costs, which are expected to be significant. We were blessed with 30 years of Marvin’s ministry and friendship, so we want to honor him by supporting Monika in her time of need.

Marvin met Monika as he spotted her in a bar in San Diego (well before they became Christians). She sized him up as another Navy guy up to no good. He sidled up to her, and whispered in her ear: “Sweet nothings. Sweet nothings. Sweet nothings.”

That corn syrupy line launched their relationship. It didn’t matter that Monika already had a boyfriend. What girl could resist such suaveness?

They got married in 1985. Became ballroom dancers. Never had kids of their own, but their youth ministry made them parental figures to many. Marvin started a fantasy football league in 1991 as a ministry related to the youth group he led with Monika. His hope, he said, was to use fantasy football to connect fathers with their teenage sons.

The league was a huge success, as competitive as it was bonding. It quickly grew to 16 teams and became known as the Vulture Club. Marvin was dubbed “The Vulture” for shamelessly making one-sided trades with high schoolers who had zero fantasy football experience.

No other fantasy football league is like the Vulture Club, something the members of the league take pride in. Marvin said “the league was probably one of the most fun things I’ve done over my life.”

When the Bay Area church we attended closed its youth ministry due to budget cuts, Marvin continued to reach out and care for those he saw needing guidance and some cheesy joy in their lives. He started a Bible study at a local restaurant, where we would meet before school once a week, sharing breakfast with God’s Word. He didn’t ask for anything in return. But when we insisted, he allowed us to pay the tip.

Marvin and Monika were constantly giving with what they had to whoever came along their path.

Over the years, some of those youth stayed in the Bay Area, others moved away. Those high schoolers went on to local careers in tech, directing units at Oracle and BevMo, doing web design for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, selling fiber optic cables. And in Hollywood, producing movies like the thriller “Elsewhere” with Anna Kendrick and the upcoming “The Walk” with Terrence Howard and Malcolm McDowell. And in biotechnology, in engineering, in medicine, in finance, in journalism, in academia.

Through our career moves, marriages, divorces, and kids, Marvin and Monika continued to be present in our lives. After they moved from California to Colorado, they kept their door open for us to visit, hosting us over homemade meals and sappy movies. For those who couldn’t visit, Marvin continued to share terrible jokes online, gleefully aware of their cringeyness. It was what we all knew and loved about him.

The Vulture Club recently held its 31st draft online, still with Marvin at the helm and many of the members from the early years.

To celebrate the league’s 20th draft in 2010, James Tedford, Marvin’s long-time assistant commissioner, put together a “Vulture’s Sixteen” video and everyone gathered for the first time outside of the Bay Area, atop the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.

Now that Marvin has passed away, we are seeing what we can do for Monika in her time of need. Not only is she still recovering from COVID, but now she also has to face life without her partner, without her love, without his unique sense of humor, and with medical bills that are difficult to plan for.

We ask you to help us support Monika, in memory of a man who was greatly loved. Thank you.