Marcia Anne Witte

1946 - 2017

Marcia Anne Witte

Formerly of St. Louis, MO, London, England, Nyack, NY, Mahopac, NY, Catskill, NY and Hudson, NY - (1946-2017)

Marcia Witte passed away suddenly, age 71, on November 12, 2017 in upstate NY after a determined two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. Her final Chatham residence was in a lovely rural area with horses and rolling hills that mirrored her childhood outside St. Louis, Missouri, where she was raised on a 40-acre farm with forested hills and her own equine partner, Diamond. She had recently retired after two years working hard on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Hudson, NY, mirroring again the hard work exerted in her youth on behalf of the family enterprise, Witte's Country Grocery and Dime Store.

In between those bookends was a grand, episodic adventure lived by a fiercely independent woman displaying creativity, courage, intellectual brilliance and an outsize sense of humor. Innovative and entrepreneurial, she founded a progressive change management consultancy in London (Dent Lee Witte, Plc). At its height, it reinvented the HR department of the British House of Commons. Through her work with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Marcia also co-founded their change management practice and, separately, started the UK's first-ever virtual consultancy. Upon returning to the US, she provided executive coaching to a future CEO of IBM, then traveled to China to help create a cradle-to-grave executive development and talent identification program for one of IBM's largest telecommunications partners.

Beyond those professional accomplishments, she was a devoted daughter to Charles and Virginia Witte, a loving sister to her brother, Mike and sister-in-law to his wife, Sally. Marcia deeply cherished her nephews, Griff (Emily Bliss), Spence (Amanda Bernal) and Drew (Kelly Farber) and grand-nieces Gillian and Eleanor. Her huge, generous love was returned in kind.

All who knew her were awed by her booming, infectious laugh and her joyous love of life. Her family will forever imagine Aunt Ha waving farewell, glass of red wine in hand, steering her beloved silver convertible into the sunset.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marcia's name to the cancer charity of one's choice would be greatly welcomed. A gathering of remembrance will be held at a future date. For information, contact Michael Blasl at French, Gifford, Preiter & Blasl Funeral Home, E-mail: blaslfuneralhome@aol.com, 518-392-28111. Condolences may be conveyed at frenchblasl.com.