Marilyn Colla died peacefully on Thursday, May 3, 2012 just before her 71st birthday at her home in Edgartown with her husband by her side. She was married to Roger Colla for 43 years.
Marilyn was born in Manchester, N.H., on May 8, 1941, the daughter of Francis B. Patterson and Helen Thompson. She grew up in Exeter, N.H., and received her bachelor’s degree from Plymouth State University in 1963 and went on to receive her masters from University of Connecticut in 1966. She lived in Glastonbury, Conn., and taught for 35 years at South Windsor, Conn., public schools, grades 4 through 6. She retired in 1998.
She and her husband summered on Martha’s Vineyard until permanently living here after her retirement. Marilyn was a member of the Women’s Club of M.V., and she volunteered at the M.V. Hospital. She was a parishioner of the Good Shepherd Parish at St. Elizabeth’s Church where she was a Eucharistic minister and attended bible studies weekly.
Marilyn enjoyed walking, bicycling, puzzles, crocheting, gardening, and reading. She also enjoyed travel, especially by sea, rail, and motorcycle sidecar.
She is survived by her husband, Roger; her brother, William Patterson of Louisa, Va., and her sister, Joan Sullivan of Cary, N.C.; Also by her brothers and sisters-in-law, Nancy Fryer of N. Branford, Conn., Diane Kennedy of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Wayne Colla of S. Windsor, Conn., and James Colla of Coeur-D’Alene, Idaho; and several nieces and nephews.
Her memorial mass will be celebrated in St. Elizabeth’s Church, Main Street, Edgartown on Monday, July 2 at 10 am. Donations may be made in her memory to the M.V. Hospital, PO Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.
Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Please visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.
