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In Memory of
Goldie Mack
Marrs (Mack)
Marrs (Mack)
1922 - 2015
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Obituary for Goldie Mack Marrs (Mack)
Goldie Marrs, 93, died peacefully in Orono, Maine, on June 17, 2015.
Goldie was born to Nathan and Basha Mack in Newark, NJ. She graduated from Weequahic High School, where she excelled at drama and music. She entered the University of Michigan, where she met the love of her life, Donald L. Marrs, whom she married during her sophomore year. They met in the U of M band, and music was a big part of their lives. They moved from Ann Arbor to Oxford, Ohio, where Don had obtained a position on the music faculty of Miami University. The Second World War intervened. They started their family, and the army moved them to Texas and California.
After the war they settled in Lake Hiawatha, NJ. Nathan taught Don the jewelry business, and Don opened a store in Bloomfield, NJ, but (to Goldie’s relief) the tug of music was too strong, and he returned to music education, starting a band program in the Parsippany-Troy Hills school system. Goldie, now a mother of three, completed her bachelor’s degree at New York University, and joined Don in music education. For many years she was the middle school band director, training students for the high school bands that Don directed. Many of their students remained lifelong friends with Goldie and Don, and some became music teachers themselves.
In retirement, they moved from Boonton, NJ to Costa Rica, where their son Stuart was a percussionist in the symphony. That adventure lasted 17 years, and they returned to the states, first to Fearrington Village in North Carolina, and then to Croasdaile Village in Durham, NC. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary there. Don died there in 2011, and Goldie began the next phase of her life as an active member of that community, even picking up her trombone again (after a hiatus of 65 years) and becoming a stalwart in their “Rusty Pipes” band. She maintained her love of her children and their families, and her lifelong passion for playing – and winning – word games. A sudden fall in 2014 led to a severe concussion and a loss of mobility, so Goldie moved to Dirigo Pines, Orono, ME, to be near Stuart and his wife Gianna.
Goldie is survived by her children, Stuart, Judy and Barry, and their spouses, Gianna, Dick and Barbara. She will be missed by her grandchildren, Abbe and Wendy, and their spouses, Albert and Jim: her great grandchildren, Carolina, Meg, Laurie and Jack; her step-grandchildren Eric and Marshall, and their wives, Mary Beth and Lesley; and her other great grandchildren, Maddie, Kayley, Noelle and Wade. Her only regrets upon dying were that she hated leaving them and wouldn’t get to see how they all turned out.
A private family gathering will be held at a future date.
Goldie was born to Nathan and Basha Mack in Newark, NJ. She graduated from Weequahic High School, where she excelled at drama and music. She entered the University of Michigan, where she met the love of her life, Donald L. Marrs, whom she married during her sophomore year. They met in the U of M band, and music was a big part of their lives. They moved from Ann Arbor to Oxford, Ohio, where Don had obtained a position on the music faculty of Miami University. The Second World War intervened. They started their family, and the army moved them to Texas and California.
After the war they settled in Lake Hiawatha, NJ. Nathan taught Don the jewelry business, and Don opened a store in Bloomfield, NJ, but (to Goldie’s relief) the tug of music was too strong, and he returned to music education, starting a band program in the Parsippany-Troy Hills school system. Goldie, now a mother of three, completed her bachelor’s degree at New York University, and joined Don in music education. For many years she was the middle school band director, training students for the high school bands that Don directed. Many of their students remained lifelong friends with Goldie and Don, and some became music teachers themselves.
In retirement, they moved from Boonton, NJ to Costa Rica, where their son Stuart was a percussionist in the symphony. That adventure lasted 17 years, and they returned to the states, first to Fearrington Village in North Carolina, and then to Croasdaile Village in Durham, NC. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary there. Don died there in 2011, and Goldie began the next phase of her life as an active member of that community, even picking up her trombone again (after a hiatus of 65 years) and becoming a stalwart in their “Rusty Pipes” band. She maintained her love of her children and their families, and her lifelong passion for playing – and winning – word games. A sudden fall in 2014 led to a severe concussion and a loss of mobility, so Goldie moved to Dirigo Pines, Orono, ME, to be near Stuart and his wife Gianna.
Goldie is survived by her children, Stuart, Judy and Barry, and their spouses, Gianna, Dick and Barbara. She will be missed by her grandchildren, Abbe and Wendy, and their spouses, Albert and Jim: her great grandchildren, Carolina, Meg, Laurie and Jack; her step-grandchildren Eric and Marshall, and their wives, Mary Beth and Lesley; and her other great grandchildren, Maddie, Kayley, Noelle and Wade. Her only regrets upon dying were that she hated leaving them and wouldn’t get to see how they all turned out.
A private family gathering will be held at a future date.
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