Marcia Ellen Gilroy

Marcia Ellen Gilroy, a woman of extraordinary strength, accomplishment, resilience, intellect, wisdom, dignity, and empathy, passed away peacefully in Kensington, Maryland, on Friday, September 26, 2025, at age 85, just four days shy of her 86th birthday, after a lengthy struggle with vascular dementia.

Her funeral will take place Sunday, October 5, at 3pm ET in person at the Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills, Michigan and online. More information can be found here: https://www.thedorfmanchapel.com/deceasedinfoR.php?rownum=5731

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Marcia was the daughter of George and Mildred Kollenberg and sister of Shirleyanne Schlang. She graduated from Mumford High School in 1956, receiving a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. She spent summers as a camp counselor at Camps Tanuga and Tamarack. Her first career was as a high school math teacher, including at Wylie E. Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan, where she taught for more than a decade.

Determined to advance her career while raising her son, Mathew Nosanchuk, Marcia returned to school in her 30s, earning a master's degree in psychology from Wayne State University and becoming a school psychologist for the Birmingham Public Schools. She later completed a Ph.D. in psychology and education from the University of Michigan, ran the psychology residency program at Children's Hospital of Michigan, taught at the University of Detroit-Mercy, and established a successful clinical psychology practice. In 2009, she moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, to be closer to her family, and courageously started a clinical psychology practice from scratch in a new community at age 70.

Throughout her life, Marcia faced significant health challenges with remarkable resilience, including Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, breast cancer twice, and major surgery, all while maintaining her dedication to helping others through her professional work.

She maintained close relationships with her large family and wide circle of friends and colleagues, cultivated over her lifetime, serving as a mentor, confidante, support, and "big sister" to many.

Marcia is survived by her loving son Mathew Nosanchuk, cherished grandchild Seth Nosanchuk, daughter-in-law Madeleine Levin, sister Shirleyanne Schlang, and brother-in-law Alan Schlang, along with countless relatives, friends, colleagues, and former patients whose lives she touched.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104, or HIAS, 1300 Spring Street, Suite 500, Silver Spring, MD 20910.