Marjorie French

Marjorie (Williams) French

I was born February 2, 1931, in St. Louis. My parents were Noel Morgan Williams and Maurine Price Williams, southerners transplanted from Kentucky. My sister, Martie Schwermin was of the WWII generation, and when I was nine years old, she taught me to dance to the incredible sounds of the Big Bands. In St. Louis, I attended Horace Mann grade school and Roosevelt High School, and graduated from Washington University. In 1959, I married Wendell French and moved to Seattle, where we raised three delightful children, Andy, Tom, and Amy. Amy and her husband, Matthias, provided us with three sweet grandchildren, Elsa, Evee and Matthias, and I was delighted to learn that Tom and his wife Katy are expecting a daughter. Wendell's hard work as a professor in the business school at the University of Washington created an opportunity for unforgettable sabbaticals: England, New Zealand, Maui, St. Petersburg, Florida, and shorter sojourns in countries around the world. Our joint efforts on his successful textbooks gave us a lovely home on Lake Washington. Although we divorced, I am deeply grateful to Wendell for our children and for a productive and stimulating life.

On my first day of college, I had met Mort Stelling, a college classmate and my confidante who left Washington University in 1952 and, in 1995, decided to find me. He succeeded, and after several years of correspondence, he joined me in Mukilteo, Washington. I was so grateful to him for the love and laughter we shared and for the help and practical advice he gave this English major. To him, and all my relatives and friends, I send my gratitude for sticking with me through good times and bad. Like Jimmy Stewart, I too had a wonderful life.

The family adds: Marjorie French died September 7, 2015, with her family by her side. She was 84. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, December 19 at the Lake Forest Park Civic Club, 2-5 p.m.