Marjorie Newton Yovino-Young

1934 - 2022

Marjorie Newton Yovino-Young
April 29, 1934 - January 11, 2022
Berkeley, California - On January 11, 2022, Marjorie Mae Newton Yovino-Young passed peacefully from this earth in her beloved Berkeley, California home surrounded by immediate family. She was 87.
Marjorie was born in Lewistown, Montana on April 29, 1934, the eldest of four daughters of George (Jim) Thomas Newton, (Kendall, Montana) and Virginia Mae Rector (Moccasin, Montana). The family lived in Montana some years before moving to Boise, Idaho in 1942. Marj attended Boise High School in 1950 and was very active in many of the school's clubs and activities.
Upon graduating from Boise High School in 1952, Marj enrolled at Boise Junior College and transferred to San Jose State University, California, graduating with a BA in English in 1958.
At San Jose State, Marj was recruited by the National Security Agency (NSA) and worked as a communications analyst ("code girl") from 1958 till 1960. In 1959 she married G. Michael Yovino-Young and they moved to Berkeley, California with their newborn son, Joey, in the Fall of 1960. Daughter Diana was born in Berkeley in 1966. Marjorie and Michael divorced in 1972. They remained friends the rest of her life.
Over a 20 year period, Marjorie continued her studies, eventually focusing on patterns she found in Russian myth and ritual which culminated in an academic work (book) titled "Pagan Ritual and Myth in Russian Magic Tales: A Study of Patterns," published by Edwin Mellon Press in 1993. Throughout her life she studied patterns in language, art and numbers, as well as nutrition and alternative medicines.
Always the independent thinker, she wanted to expedite her passing using the MAID (Medical Aid in Dying) Law that California recently passed. She gave her permission to state this in her obituary to let others know of this potential option when in hospice.
Marjorie is survived by her children, Joseph (Joey) Yovino-Young and Diana Yovino-Young, sisters Doris Pilkerton and Alice Askarnia (Jeanne Newton Shaw, the second eldest daughter, passed in 2021), grandchildren, Delaney Taylor and Morgan Taylor, and her former husband, Michael Yovino-Young.