Verna Marriott

Bumped into two young women recently who remembered Verna the storyteller at the library. Valentina was just hired to be the receptionist for MCTV which is still housed in the basement of the library and is expecting her first child. Her father brought her and her brother to the library on a weekly basis. They both loved Verna's stories--especially the Gunniwulf. Kristie, another young mother stopped me in Meijers and introduced me to her 3 year old son saying, "Mrs. Levy was one of the...

There's a well-known African tale called "The Cow Tail Switch" in which the lesson is that no one is ever dead until they are forgotten. As I was making fudge for Christmas, I thought of the delicious fudge she would bring to the library. Often when my acting students perform "The Judge: an Untrue Tale, " I tell them about how the two of us would tell it as a duet. "The Gunniwulf" and "Why Evergreens Keep Their Leaves" are favorites because she introduced me to those beloved stories. ...

Verna was a good friend of mine in Midland, Michigan. My young boys loved the library and Verna's storytelling. She was a wonderful librarian. But her friendship was what I valued most - our birthdays were within two weeks and we would celebrate with a third friend, Kay Gardner, who's birthday came two weeks later. We would gather many times to watch videos together and have long discussions on current events, the Meaning of Life and just about every other topic we could think of. I have...

Verna, Kathy and Laura were friends and neighbors of ours in Ann Arbor, Mi. The ladies were friends of my daughters, Wendy, now lives in Ft. Wayne, In, and Sandy,who, sadly, died of an aggressive breast cancer in 2011. We also were acquainted with her sister, Gwen, who worked for years at our local Meijers Grocery Store and also at the Daycare center, connected with St. Joe's Hospital. I have fond memories of our times together and hope that the family will celebrate her busy life and be...

I was deeply shocked by the sad news of Verna's sudden passing. It is impossible to put into words how I feel at this moment. I had the pleasure and privilege of knowing Verna well and working side by side with her at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in Midland, Michigan through thick and thin for over 20 years. Verna was a dedicated librarian, a gifted storyteller, a loving mother and a loyal friend. She touched and inspired so many people's lives. My children grew up with fond...

Those of us who had to privilege of working with Verna at Grace A Dow have been sharing stories about our friendship with this truly gifted colleague. Every time I tell The Judge or The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, I think of how we would do those stories as partners and the fun we had performing them. We are working with the library staff to provide a fitting memorial in Youth Services in her name.

May the love of family and friend give you strength to cope with your loss of Verna Marriott. And may the comforting promise found at 2 Thessalonians 3:16 be of comfort. That "the Lord of peace himself give you peace constantly in every way. May the Lord be with all of you."

My condolences to Verna's daughters (she loved you both dearly) and her extended family. The world became a darker place when her storytelling stopped.

Verna and I became friends in 1977 in Midland, Michigan. I enjoyed knowing her, but not playing Trivial Pursuit with her. She always won! Almost every year Verna came to Hawai'i to visit Rachel Berry (Oahu) and me (Big Island). She loved getting children excited about books. Her hand puppets for story telling entertained us all. She will be missed.