Marjorie Adams (Spence) Anderson died on April 3 in Tyler, Texas. She was 95.
Marjorie was born October 24, 1916 in Worcester.
For many years she was a first grade and kindergarten teacher at Tisbury Elementary School in Vineyard Haven. She was dearly loved by her students long after her retirement in 1976. She was elected to the Town of Tisbury Finance Committee and served for over ten years. As a life member of Christ Methodist Church in Vineyard Haven, she was actively involved in many church activities and was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels. She resided in Vineyard Haven for 45 years before relocating to Tyler in 2006.
Marjorie was pre-deceased by her parents, Robert J. and Vera A. Spence, her brothers Robert Jr., Russell, John, Gordon, and Holman Spence, her husband of 33 years, Aarne Johann Anderson, and her daughter, Martha Matilda Anderson Hartman.
She is survived by children, Robert Ellis and his wife, Mary, of Eugene, Ore., Vera Ellis Bagent and her husband, Ron, of Granville, Ohio, Miriam Anderson of Woodburn, Ore., and John Anderson and his wife, Frances, of Tyler, Texas, and a sister, Elizabeth Spence Lawrence of Granville.
Gram, as she was affectionately known by her 14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, loved young people, as they did her. In the summer, she opened her home to her grandchildren and their friends who came to the Island to earn money for college tuition. She referred to them as “summer grandkids and some are not,” but she always enjoyed their being a part of her life. Among her many talents were oil painting and handicrafts, knitting, tatting, braiding rugs, needlepoint, and crochet. She was an avid reader, but also found time to write a number of short stories and an occasional letter to the editor to share her opinions with others.
The family extends its appreciation to the many caregivers at Garden Estates of Tyler who made the last years of her life as pleasant as possible.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. The family encourages donations in her memory to The Council on Aging, Tisbury Senior Center, P. O. Box 1239, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. Condolences may be sent to: stewartfamilyfuneral.com.
