Marion Meader

MEADER MARION MEADER (Age 83) Died January 2, 2012 from lung cancer and pneumonia at the Reston Hospital Center, Reston, Virginia. She was, for over four decades, a pioneer of early Reston. She was an active volunteer and instrumental in the formation of organizations such as St. Ann'e Episcopal Church, GRACE, Reston Interfaith and the Reston Historical Trust and Museum. She is well known to the Garden Club, League of Woman Voters and FISH. Her parents, now deceased, were Henry and Sara Viola Woitke. She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was educated in the Jersey City grade schools, where she was slipped from kindergarten to third grade and from seventh to eighth grade. She went to and graduated from the Henry Snyder High School. After that she attended Kathryn Gibbs school in New York City, learning secretarial skills and enjoying the studies and professors from Columbia University, who taught liberal arts. Her first job was to work for Myron C. Taylor, past CEO of the U.S. Steel Corp. and President Franklin Roosevelt's representative to the Vatican. Her school counselors convinced her that it was a dead-end job and she moved into Radio Free Europe, part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Crusade in Europe. She was asked the next year to work in Europe for the European Director where she met her Signal Corps husband to be, Glen S. "Steve" Meader, Jr. They were married in 1953 and enjoyed 57 years together. Surviving are her husband, Col. G.S. Meader, USA (Ret.); and three children, Glenn of Oakland, California, Charlotte and husband, Jeffrey Jones of Issaquah, Washington and David of Richmond, California; and four grandchildren, Samuel Henry Jones, Abigale Caroline Jones, Kate Friendly-Jones of Medford, Oregon and Korty Meader of Richmond, California. After 22 years of camp following her soldier in New Jersey, Kansas, Washington DC, Virginia and Germany, she worked for the MITRE Corporation editing energy material and finally publishing a news letter for the four nuclear laboratories discussing their non-secret accomplishment. During this period, she completed her studies to beach her BA in English from the State University of New York (SUNY). She was a homemaker including two separate years alone while her husband served overseas in Korea and Vietnam. She was an accomplished horse rider and jumper, an enthusiastic and crafty tennis player and a skilled downhill skier until last year. She was committed to local charitable and social organizations, including the Garden Club, League of Woman Voters, Interfaith, GRACE (founding member) and FISH. She was a docent at the children's programs of the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and taught English for several years at the NOVA Loudoun County campus. Funeral service will be held at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Reston, VA on Saturday, January 14 at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery in the spring at a date not yet determined. Please view and sign the family guestbook at: www.adamsgreen.comwww.adamsgreen.com