Obituary of Marjorie Margulies

Marjorie Mae Margulies (ne Goodston1), 97, passed away on August 19, 2013 in San Jose, CA, from heart failure brought on by complications of hepatitis. Marjorie was delivered by her grandfather (the first Jewish doctor in Denver, CO) at home in the Mile High City on March 17, 1916, the third of five children of Harry and Minnie Goodston. Though Jewish, she took special pride of being "honorary Irish" having been born St. Patrick's Day. As a child, her family moved nearby house to a house on West Byers Place, where her surviving sister Joyce resides to this day. The relatives simply refer to it as "the house." Marjorie was a graduate of West High School class of 1933, and just a few months ago attended her high school reunion where she held the distinction of being the oldest graduate. After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs, primarily as a bookkeeper. She was engaged (and disengaged) to two suitors before meeting her future husband, Isadore (Issy) Margulies, at a USO event. They dated every day for three weeks, and then Issy "decided" they should get married, and they did in 1950. They spent one year in Golva, North Dakota, where Issy maintained a tiny airfield. They moved to Evansville, Indiana where their first son, Daniel, was born in 1952. Roger was born in Denver in 1953 and Lyle arrived in 1954 at Alamogordo, New Mexico. The parents and their "Army brats" were no strangers to moving every couple of years-as the government job dictated. The boys' Hebrew school education was in Wiesbaden, Germany. In Homestead, Florida (during Hurricane Betsy) they had a triple Bar Mitzvah, possibly because they were in one location long enough for the ceremony to take place, but more likely because Issy wanted to hold down the expenses. Marjorie and Issy made sure all three sons were Eagle Scouts, yet forgot to tell them that not having a college degree was even an option. Marjorie was involved in Welcome Wagon and similar community groups wherever they lived: El Paso, TX, Huntsville, AL, Wiesbaden, Homestead, Winston-Salem, NC, Tucson, AZ, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She was among 15 women honored by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley 24th Annual Women of Distinction Ceremony for her volunteer work at Chai House, where she and Issy moved in 2004.2 A month after moving into the retirement home she planned and staged a huge New Year's bash, and was subsequently unanimously elected president of the Tenants Council. Perfecting old recipes and making up new ones was a creative outlet for Marjorie. After having won several cooking contests in El Paso, she began entering friends' names in the competitions because her moniker was becoming too well known to the judges. The friends were quite surprised to be told they won! In 1968, in North Carolina, she was in a cook-off and returned home with a portable TV, which was rather novel at the time. It then resided in "her kitchen." Marjorie is survived by sons Daniel (and Pam), Roger (and Ann), and Lyle (and Julie), grandchildren Yaki Margulies, and Dana DeVaul (and Richard) and Josh Niehaus. She is also survived by nephews Jerry, Ron, Steve, and niece Barbara. Marjorie was predeceased by her husband Issy, brother Raymond and sisters Betty and Lois. She will be remembered for her calm demeanor in times of chaos, and for being active and involved in life until the very end. Her nephew Russell summed up her compassion by stating, "In bad times she was supportive and reached out to people who needed extra help." She also had a keen interest in telling stories about the events in her life. She wrote up many of these in an autobiography called "My Story" to be finished and distributed by her sons in the near future. Marjorie was particularly proud of her Menza membership and maintained a daily routine of crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and writing numerous letters to many, many editors. Her Bingo wizardry may have been due to her Irish luck or that she could play more simultaneous Bingo cards that anyone else at the table. Did we mention she won money on "Wheel of Fortune?" The burial will take place at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado on August 23, 2013. Donations can be made to the North American Butterfly Association3, one of her passions, or to the Chai House Tenant's Council4. Just as a butterfly leaves the cocoon, may the beautiful, gentle Marjorie fly on to flower-lined fields under warm, bright skies. The world will miss you.