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Church, Marjorie S.
MARJORIE S. CHURCH
Marjorie S. Church was born in Springfield, Ohio on December 7, 1912, and died in Westlake, Ohio on August 2, 2008. In her early childhood she lived in Lakewood, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Upper Arlington, Ohio where she graduated from high school in 1931.
She studied ballet with Yorg Fasting and piano with Burleigh Cupp of The Morrey School of Music, both in Columbus, Ohio. A high school representative on the Deacons at the First Community Church in Columbus, she also was a member and sometimes director of the Brownlee Players at the Church. She was active in sports that included baseball, field hockey, basketball, golf, tennis and swimming.
A graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, her first real job was as a fashion artist in New York. The country was still in the throws of the Depression, and jobs were hard to get. Determination paid off, however, and Meyer Both Newspaper Art and Copy Service hired her as an apprentice at $5.00 a week. The train fare from Scarsdale, where she lived, was $10.50 a week. But, within three weeks, she was on a salary, earning more than enough to pay her train fare and other expenses.
In 1937 she went to work at The Cleveland Press as a fashion artist in the advertising department. There she met her future husband, John, who was working in the business office. They were married on Christmas Eve, 1940, at the Fairmount Presbyterian Church. 1942 brought a commission in the Navy for her husband and brought her a commission to have a baby the following January.
After World War II, now with daughter, Mardi, they settled in Akron, Ohio with her husband working at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A son, John Jr., was born and now there were four. Fairlawn Community Church was their church home, and Mrs. Church started doing freelance artwork. The family moved to North Madison, Ohio where son, William (Skip) was born. In 1953 Chagrin Falls, Ohio became their home.
Still wanting to be a stay-at-home mother, Mrs. Church continued her freelance artwork with two national shoe accounts, advertising and promotion for several builders plus diverse art and layout services. Later she worked for the Chagrin Valley Herald for five years, for the Town and Country Trader as the Art Director for sixteen years and sold real estate for S & K Realty and Dolores C. Knowlton Realtors.
She was a member of The Federated Church in Chagrin Falls for thirty-five years where her activities included choir, teaching, communications chairman, Central Planning Board, F.O.S.P. Horse Show Committee and researched, with her husband, Federated Church history for publication.
For three years, Mrs. Church was a member of the Methodist Church of Chagrin Falls, teaching and providing artwork. In 1995, Mr. & Mrs. Church moved to Olmstead Falls, Ohio and became members of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Berea, Ohio.
Organizations to which Mrs. Church belonged are: The Chagrin Valley Artists Association, The Chagrin Valley Women's Club, and Habitat for Humanity, Chagrin Falls Park (Board member and Publicity Chairman). She painted and sold many watercolors and illustrated and published a book of her poetry.
Preceding Mrs. Church in death were her husband, John A. Church; her grandson Dustin; her brother; Harry Simons; her sister, Janice Fishel; and her parents, Harry and Eva Simons.
She is survived by her three children, Mardi Bohn (Gary) of Plano, Texas; John A. Church, Jr. (Mary Ann) of Bay Village, Ohio and William (Skip) S. Church (Colleen) of Madison, Connecticut; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services were held at the Stroud-Lawrence Funeral Home in Chagrin Falls on Wednesday, August 6, 2008. Interment was at the Evergreen Hill Cemetery. The family requests donations be made to First Congregational United Church of Christ of Berea (berea-ucc.org).
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