Karen Patitz and I were just wondering today at the Reunion meeting where our Marcia Sutherland was and if she were coming to the 50th. Oh woe....Marcia was one of the great creative characters of our class---she could write, she could tell tall tales, and she was never without a wry and witty comeback. My favorite detail about Marcia's professional life was that she wrote copy for both the J. Peterman Catalogue and, most amazingly, the Victoria Secret Catalogue. There were layers upon layers in Marcia, and I shall miss her enormously.
I was a bridesmaid in Marcia's wedding at First Congregational Church in Needham. I remember her marvelous musical talents. She was the organist for Rainbow Girls (imagine that!) and she would play after all the meetings and we would belt out show tunes. What fun. When we were all first married, she lived in Cambridge on the third floor of a very old apartment house. We would trek into Boston, climb the rickety stairs and spend the night solving the problems of the world--or discovering the secrests of Atlantis. Those were great times!
Marcia was a fantastic person in every way. I moved to Needham just before the start of sophomore year which was my worst nightmare--way too difficult to move to a new town and a new school. Well, fortunately, Marcia and I lived on the same street (along with Sandy Sharp). I remember the first time she came down to meet me, and her comment was, "Roz, we live on the third wealthiest street in Needham, and you must not forget it!" Yes, that was my intro to Marcia! We never had any classes together. After all, she was brilliant and I was not. But we did do fun things together in the summertime. I went off to prep school at the end of junior year, but Marcia and I were always in touch off and on. Her parents and mine, along with Sandy's, were very good friends. Marcia was an accomplished pianist. beautiful writer, wonderful story teller, and a magnificent cook. It was Marcia who introduced me to San Diego in 1967. Her husband was out to sea, so it was just Marcia, young son Bill, and me. Oh what fun did we have! Whenever she flew home to visit her parents, we'd get together and share stories and of course laugh lots. We reconnected in 2001 in San Francisco where she and new husband Glen lived. My son and I would visit friends here in San Diego and fly up to visit Marcia and Glen for a week or so. We did all kinds of fun things touring around the city. She adored my son who of course adored her. We saw them yearly including July 2004. With Glen being older than she, she retired before she was 60. She had been working for the Mayor of San Bruno, CA for a number of years. She and Glen had enjoyed many wonderful trips together, and we always loved seeing all of their videos of various vacations. The summer of 2004 she bought me "Tales of a Geisha" which I asked her to sign. It must have been a sign of things to come. She turned 60 on 10/5/04 (me on 10/4/04) and about two-three weeks later, I received an e-mail from Glen saying that she had died in a horrific car accident. To this day, her death haunts me in that I hope that she didn't suffer. She is truly a friend I will never forget, and I'm so happy to have known such a wonderful human being.
It was gratifying to read the posts detailing Marcia's diverse, successful life and know why she was so respected and loved by those around her. I am so saddened by the news of our class' loss .Her family has a marvelous legacy with which to connect when they remember her, every day. Betsey Loomis Whitney
Jeanie Eaton (Goddard)
Karen Patitz and I were just wondering today at the Reunion meeting where our Marcia Sutherland was and if she were coming to the 50th. Oh woe....Marcia was one of the great creative characters of our class---she could write, she could tell tall tales, and she was never without a wry and witty comeback. My favorite detail about Marcia's professional life was that she wrote copy for both the J. Peterman Catalogue and, most amazingly, the Victoria Secret Catalogue. There were layers upon layers in Marcia, and I shall miss her enormously.
Jeanie Eaton Goddard
Judy McIntosh (Carr)
I was a bridesmaid in Marcia's wedding at First Congregational Church in Needham. I remember her marvelous musical talents. She was the organist for Rainbow Girls (imagine that!) and she would play after all the meetings and we would belt out show tunes. What fun. When we were all first married, she lived in Cambridge on the third floor of a very old apartment house. We would trek into Boston, climb the rickety stairs and spend the night solving the problems of the world--or discovering the secrests of Atlantis. Those were great times!
Roz Randolph (Smith)
Marcia was a fantastic person in every way. I moved to Needham just before the start of sophomore year which was my worst nightmare--way too difficult to move to a new town and a new school. Well, fortunately, Marcia and I lived on the same street (along with Sandy Sharp). I remember the first time she came down to meet me, and her comment was, "Roz, we live on the third wealthiest street in Needham, and you must not forget it!" Yes, that was my intro to Marcia! We never had any classes together. After all, she was brilliant and I was not. But we did do fun things together in the summertime. I went off to prep school at the end of junior year, but Marcia and I were always in touch off and on. Her parents and mine, along with Sandy's, were very good friends. Marcia was an accomplished pianist. beautiful writer, wonderful story teller, and a magnificent cook. It was Marcia who introduced me to San Diego in 1967. Her husband was out to sea, so it was just Marcia, young son Bill, and me. Oh what fun did we have! Whenever she flew home to visit her parents, we'd get together and share stories and of course laugh lots. We reconnected in 2001 in San Francisco where she and new husband Glen lived. My son and I would visit friends here in San Diego and fly up to visit Marcia and Glen for a week or so. We did all kinds of fun things touring around the city. She adored my son who of course adored her. We saw them yearly including July 2004. With Glen being older than she, she retired before she was 60. She had been working for the Mayor of San Bruno, CA for a number of years. She and Glen had enjoyed many wonderful trips together, and we always loved seeing all of their videos of various vacations. The summer of 2004 she bought me "Tales of a Geisha" which I asked her to sign. It must have been a sign of things to come. She turned 60 on 10/5/04 (me on 10/4/04) and about two-three weeks later, I received an e-mail from Glen saying that she had died in a horrific car accident. To this day, her death haunts me in that I hope that she didn't suffer. She is truly a friend I will never forget, and I'm so happy to have known such a wonderful human being.
Betsey Loomis (Whitney)
It was gratifying to read the posts detailing Marcia's diverse, successful life and know why she was so respected and loved by those around her. I am so saddened by the news of our class' loss .Her family has a marvelous legacy with which to connect when they remember her, every day. Betsey Loomis Whitney