Marian Young Meditch

MARIAN YOUNG MEDITCH, 90
Civic Leader

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. - Marian Young Meditch, recipient of Sagamore of the Wabash awards from two governors and a Life Trustee of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, died of natural causes May 20, 2011, at her home in Indianapolis, IN. She was 90.
Mrs. Meditch grew up in Lake Bluff, IL, where the strength of character, intelligence and independence that were the hallmarks of her life came to light early. Several boys who pestered Marian and her little sister, Ginny, as they walked to school each morning were deeply impressed when Marian convinced her father to teach her to box and put a forceful end to their taunts.
She graduated from Lake Forest High School and Northwestern University, where she met the love of her life, Boris E. Meditch, when the two were tapped to be co-chairs of the Junior Prom. With the onset of World War II, she and Boris were married on graduation day in 1942 just before he was commissioned and posted to the Atlantic theater; Marian moved to Norfolk, VA, to be near him during shore leave.
After the war, the couple moved to Boris' hometown of Indianapolis, where Mrs. Meditch became a prominent civic leader in her adopted city focusing on the arts, education, and health. In addition to her work with the ISO, she was the Mayor's Appointee to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where she was also a buyer for the Alliance of the IMA; Co-Founder and Chair of the Indiana Advocates for the Arts; and treasurer for the Washington Township School Planning Committee. She served on the Board of Governors for the United Way, where she was also a member of the Executive Committee; she was also a member of the Executive Committee for the Indiana Society to Prevent Blindness. She chaired the United Fund's Women's Division for Special Gifts; numerous committees for the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis and the Indiana Arts Commission; she also co-chaired the host committee for the 1977 Business Committee for the Arts.
She served on the boards of the St. Vincent's Hospital Foundation; the National Society to Prevent Blindness; the American Symphony Orchestra League; Arts Midwest; and the 500 Festival Governor's Ball. Over the years she was also President and/or Vice President for St. Margaret's Hospital Guild; the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Women's Committee; the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art; the National Volunteer Council of the American Symphony League; Delta Gamma Sorority Alumnae Association of Indianapolis and Northwestern; Parent-Teacher Club Delaware School Triangle Club; and Northview Junior High Triangle Club.
Mrs. Meditch was an avid gardener, amateur horticulturist and birder, as well as an enthusiastic golfer, a game she played often with her beloved husband at Meridian Hills Country Club, where the couple were members for many decades. The couple spent winters at Mountain Lake, near Lake Wales, FL, where Marian pursued her passion for giving back as a board member of Mountain Lake Community Service and the Lake Wales Arts Council. While there she and Boris enjoyed their many joint interests, from golf to reading to politics and the arts.
She is preceded in death by her parents Ferdinand H. Young and Anna Wolff Young and her 3 sisters Virginia Y. Winters, Bernice Y. Cleveland, and Elvira Y. Morris. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, her two daughters Andrea Meditch and Marcie Meditch Murphey, and her three grandchildren: Alexandra M. Goodwin, Kelly M. Murphey, and Ava M. Murphey.
There will be no service or calling; a celebration of her life will be held at a later date. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com where you may share a personal memory of Marian or make a memorial contributions to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 32 East Washington Street, Suite 600, Indianapolis, IN 46204; the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, 441 E. 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202; or Mountain Lake Community Service, Attn: WG Burns, P.O. Box 832, Lake Wales, FL 33859. Leppert Mortuary, Nora Chapel is handling arrangements.