Marion I. (“Marnie”) Willis was born on September 28, 1929 in Clarks Green, PA, the daughter of Robert T. Ives and Elizabeth M. Ives. She passed away peacefully on September 30, 2020 after a long and wonderful life.
Marion (Ives) graduated with honors from Central High School in Scranton, PA in 1947. She earned a scholarship to Radcliffe College at Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1951. At Harvard, Marion resided in Everett House where she met lifelong friends Jean (Taylor) Kroeber and Ursula (Kroeber) LeGuin. After graduating, Marion started her career as a teacher/professor at the hospital school in Canton, MA, teaching students with disabilities. She married and had two sons, Ian and Gordon Graham. Marion earned graduate degrees from Tufts University and Boston University. In 1961 following a divorce, Marion, a single mother at the time but a real trail blazer, became the first full-time female faculty member at Bentley College in Boston. She went on to become Bentley’s first fully tenured female professor in 1974. In 1994, she retired from Bentley University, now in Waltham, after 33 years of teaching English, English literature and composition.
In 1965, Marion married Warrington (Bill) Willis and the family moved to Derry, NH. Marion served several terms on the Derry School Board in the late 60’s and early 70’s and was instrumental in the construction of the Derry Village School and the first addition to the Gilbert H. Hood Middle School. For almost 50 years she was an active member of the First Parrish Church in East Derry and was a strong supporter of its current renovation. She also served several terms on the Derry Zoning Board. As an early advocate for the preservation of Derry’s historic buildings, the preservation of open space and of controlled growth, she also contributed to and helped write several of the Town’s Master plans. For her many years of service to the Town of Derry, she, along with her two sisters, Elizabeth Ives and Margaret Ives, were recognized by the Chamber of Commerce as co-citizens of the year in 2009.
Marion was a model of strength and determination. She possessed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and was a voracious reader. She consumed the written word like most people breathe oxygen. Marion had an in-depth knowledge of American, European and world history and literature. She was a gifted conversationalist and had a real knack for nurturing and enriching the minds of her colleagues, students, family members both young and old, and her many friends, including her dear friends in Questers, which she joined after retiring from Bentley. For years Marion somehow found time to maintain beautiful gardens at her home on South Main Street. She was a wonderful cook and was able to whip up holiday meals and mouthwatering baked goods with seemingly little effort from her cramped kitchen. She delighted in entertaining her large extended family and friends at the countless holiday gatherings and celebrations she and her husband Bill hosted.
Marion’s judgement, strength of will and the confidence she had in her own convictions (some might say stubbornness) were marvels to behold. For her 91 years on this earth, there was rarely a moment she was not in control of the room she was in. When she spoke, people listened. Marion’s love of her family, her wisdom and her spirit will continue to serve as an inspiration for all who knew her.
Marion is survived by her sister Margaret Ives of Derry, and brother Robert T. Ives of Valparaiso, IN; her son Gordon Graham and his wife Tracy of Derry, daughter-in-law Rebeca (Knox) Graham of Spokane, WA, step daughter Janet Jones and her husband Jim of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, and her step-son Richard Willis of Philadelphia, PA: grandchildren Shannan McKenna and her husband Dan, Alyssa Garrigan and her husband John, Owen Graham, step-grandchildren Beth (Jones) Moginot and Sarah (Jones) Girotti, and Chris, Matthew, and Mandy Willis, and their families; and great grandchildren Brynn, Colin, Addison and Graham as well as many other dear cousins and relatives. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband Bill Willis, her sister Elizabeth Ives, her oldest son Ian Graham, and step-son Russell Willis.
An outdoor memorial service/celebration of life will be held Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 PM at the First Parish Church in East Derry, NH. Following the service calling hours will be held outside the Church from 2:00 to 3:30 PM. (Masks and social distancing are required at the service and calling hours.)
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the “Friends of the Meeting House at First Parish” https://fotmh.org; the First Parish Congregational Church, Building Rehabilitation, ATTN: Financial Secretary PO Box 114 East Derry, NH 03041 for restoration of the sanctuary and Church’s stained-glass windows; New Hampshire Public Radio; or the National Trust for Historic Preservation.