Marjorie Farber

Anchorage resident Marjorie Cullen Farber, 93, "Marge" to her friends and "Ona" to her grandkids, died peacefully at home July 9, 2007, with her daughters, Victoria and Elizabeth, by her side.
There will be a celebration of life potluck from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 5 at Russian Jack Park Chalet off of DeBarr Road.
Marge was born Dec. 30, 1913, in Wadsworth, Ohio, to parents who were second-generation immigrants from County Cork, Ireland. Raised Catholic, she grew up in Tollgate and Bridgeport, Conn., and eventually was mother to three of five children. The first three (two died at birth) were with her first husband, Frederick William Banta Jr., and included her son, William Cullen Farber, who preceded her in death on Oct. 28, 2003. She gave birth to her two surviving daughters, Victoria and Elizabeth, with her second husband, William Edward Farber. Before his retirement as a colonel in the Army, the family lived in Bavaria, Germany; Japan; North Carolina; and on a sailboat while looking for a house in Springfield, Va. The family retired to Middletown, N.J., in 1960, and later, after the colonel's death on July 30, 1963, relocated to Sarasota, Fla., in 1966. One by one, the children relocated to Alaska, and true to the nature of moms, she moved to Alaska to be near her children in 1971.
Her family wrote: "A woman of many talents, Marge fondly reminisced of being very active and athletic in her day as a gymnast and loved to play tennis and golf (and she even won a beauty contest in Connecticut). She was quite the actress in numerous plays (during high school and as an Army wife)." Marge was involved in the Cub Scouts and Brownies. She was also a seamstress and homemaker "and her home was filled with an eclectic array of items from wherever she lived and visited including Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Austria, and most of the United States," her family also wrote. "She was also a talented artist; many walls of her home displayed her oil paintings." She had won first prize for creating a poster for the Connecticut Humane Society in 1927. "Anyone who met her knew that she was well-traveled and well-read. One could say she was someone with 'unrealized potential,' " her family also wrote.
"Marjorie wants everyone to know that she was a 50-plus year friend of 'Bill W.' She was instrumental in starting the AA Star Group in Eagle River. Within AA, she was one of, if not the oldest known sober female member in Alaska and would celebrate her sobriety birthdays on Mother's Day.
"Marge was known to say, 'I have always wanted to live a normal life and be a friend to mankind.' She was sharp in mind to the end, had a quick wit, and did not mince words. She would tell you like it was and helped many people in the process. She was loved, and she will be missed."
She leaves behind her two daughters, Victoria Nelsen and Elizabeth Farber; daughter-in-law, Lisa Farber; grandchildren, Jennifer Nelsen, Becky Evans, identical twins Michael C. and Anthony D. Brancati, Stephanie Bjorkman and William W. Farber; and many great-grandchildren.
Marge and her daughters would like to thank the staff at Providence Hospice and Pat Dooley, who made her last days more comfortable and peaceful.
Marge was a supporter of the American Lung Cancer Society, Alaska State Troopers Special Olympics and Providence Hospice. Memorial donations can be made to any of those organizations.
Per Marjorie's wishes, she was cremated by Anchorage Funeral Home and will be buried with her husband, Bill, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.