Mary Patricia Marshall (1917 – 2015)

Mary Patricia Marshall, age 97, died Tuesday, June 2, 2015, in Charlottesville, VA.  Formerly of Alexandria, VA,  she had been a Washington Map Society member for 32 years.  Wife of the late Robert Alexander Marshall for 54 years, she was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 14, 1917 and was a graduate the UniversityoOf Minnesota School of Journalism. Over the years, she was an editor and/or writer for Eliot Ness, the US Department of Agriculture, the Foundation for Cooperative Housing, the US Department of Labor's Manpower magazine and its Women's Bureau, and the National Academy of Sciences.  Mary Patricia and Robert built the third house constructed in Hollin Hills, south of Alexandria, Va., where they raised their three children.   See http://www.dailyprogress.com/obituaries/marshall-mary-patricia/article_386c3690-ea6a-50c8-a74d-1ab070cb175a.html

In 2010, when she was 93, she provided the following membership profile for The Portolan:

Patricia Marshall:  Cartographic interests: antique maps of North America and maps of exploration of the American West. Professional Background: BA University of Minnesota with major in journalism. Work included information specialist at Farm Security Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture; writer and editor for company funded by Agency for International Development to establish housing programs for the poor in Latin America; editor and writer for Manpower Magazine at U.S. Department of Labor; edited a book for the Women’s Bureau at Labor; edited scientific studies on environmental concerns for the National Research Council at National Academy of Sciences, wrote and edited publications for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.  Comments: I became interested in cartography when my husband Robert Marshall began researching explorations of the American West. This led us to the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division where we learned about the Washington Map Society, became members and developed great interest in early maps of this country. My husband died in 1994, but although I now live in Charlottesville Virginia, I continue membership in the WMS and learn from reading The Portolan and from studying the history and content of early maps.  (Editor’s note: I had the pleasure to chat with Patricia in developing this item and found this 27-year member of the WMS a lovely 93-year old with a great love of map )