Marie M. Messner

AMESBURY, MA – Marie (Blais) Messner, 90, died Sunday, December 27, 2020 at home surrounded by her loving family after a period of declining health and a brief illness. Born in Amesbury to Dr. Robert E. and Anne (Haddon) Blais, Marie attended Sacred Heart Schools and graduated as the valedictorian of Amesbury High School Class of 1948. She majored in biology at Radcliffe College, where she met her future husband, the late Dr. Edward Messner, who was a student at Harvard Medical School. They married in 1961 and remained an exceptionally happy couple until Edward's death in 2006. After receiving her bachelor's degree, Marie worked as a researcher at the Growth Study at Boston Children's Hospital up to the birth of the first of her three children. Marie returned to Amesbury with her husband and children in 1965, living in the same house for the rest of her life.

Devoted to her children, her grandchildren, her mother and siblings, and her 17 nieces and nephews, and to her community, Marie volunteered in many areas. She was a member of the PTA, active in the Amesbury Educational Foundation, Inc., and a co-founder of Amesbury Youth Music Supporters. She was a member of the Elizabeth H. Whittier Club and the Whittier Home Association. For the Amesbury Council on Aging she assisted with tax preparations for over 20 years until she herself was 84, and she served as Treasurer for the Maudslay Arts Center for 25 years.

Marie leaves her son, William Messner and his partner Faith Selzer of Amesbury, with whom she lived; her two daughters, Ellen Rogers and her husband Peter of North Providence, RI and Margaret Chastel and husband Guillaume of Rochester, NY; and two granddaughters, Luisa Chastel and Luz Chastel; a sister, Roberta Folsom and her husband Gary of Amesbury; her nieces and nephews, and many grandnieces and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her brothers Robert E. Blais II and Louis A. "Louie" Blais and a sister, Anne Terry.

When not volunteering, assisting friends, or caring for family, Marie was an avid newspaper and magazine reader and consumer of news, and she excelled at crossword puzzles. Marie's sense of humor, her quick wit, and her gentle teasing put smiles on the faces of friends and family alike. A loving, gracious person, Marie brought joy to lots of people, especially her children. Those who knew and loved her will miss her greatly, but her memory will be a blessing to all of them.

Funeral services will be held when the pandemic eases, probably in late summer 2021. Rice Funeral Home, 300 Park Ave, Worcester, is in care of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Amesbury Educational Foundation, Incorporated (AEFI), PO Box 245, Amesbury, MA 01913 (https://www.aefionline.com/support/).