Marcelle Marcus

1930 - 2025

Marcelle Freed Marcus was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 7, 1930. She grew up in poverty during the Great Depression and World War II. Marcelle was an excellent student and thrived at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, where she learned to develop leadership abilities that were uncommon for girls in this era. Marcelle received a full academic scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania despite there being a strict quota of the number of Jews that were admitted to Ivy League universities at the time. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts and graduated with Cuma Sum Laude honors in 1952. She went on to earn an M.A. at Indiana University in English a few years later. She also studied at Stanford University on a full grant and worked on a doctorate in Yiddish Folklore at the University of California-Berkeley.

Marcelle was a world traveler and journeyed around Europe solo at the age of 22. She lived in France for a year and was a Bonafide Francophile. She loved all things French. She spoke five languages fluently - English, French, Spanish, Yiddish, and Latin. She was also conversational in German, Russian and Italian.

Marcelle loved Jewish and Yiddish culture and studied the history of Jews in earnest. She was a friend of Israel. Marcelle's interests and hobbies included reading voraciously, teaching, traveling, skiing, riding bikes, and chatting with friends and family.

Professionally, Marcelle worked at a myriad of jobs, all with the central theme of helping others. These jobs included supporting Hispanic agricultural immigrants for Migrant Ed, teaching English Second Language classes to Vietnamese immigrants at Santa Rosa Junior College, and assisting Russian immigrants and other Jews with no-interest loans for Hebrew Free Loan.

Marcelle Freed married Tony D'Abbracci in 1952 and they had a daughter, Nina, in 1957 in Bloomington, Indiana. After a divorce, while teaching at Illinois State University, Marcelle met Kenneth Marcus. They married in 1966 and had a son, Richard, in Bloomington, Illinois in 1967. Marcelle, Kenneth, Nina, and Richard relocated to Santa Rosa, California in September 1967 when Kenneth accepted a professor position in the Criminal Justice Department at a brand-new university known as "Sonoma State University." Kenneth taught at SSU for 30 years before retiring in 1997.

Nina and Richard were raised in Santa Rosa by their parents, and both went to Santa Rosa High School and off to university. They both inherited the love of travel from their parents. Marcelle and Kenneth were married for 59-1/2 years and celebrated a long and prosperous life together.

Marcelle passed away peacefully and comfortably surrounded by her family and friends at 12:50 a.m. on December 4, 2025, at the age of 95. Marcelle is survived by her husband Kenneth, daughter Nina, son Richard, and grand-daughters Jessica and Quinn. Marcelle will be forever loved by her family and close friends.

May Marcelle Freed Marcus Rest-In-Peace for all eternity.

Arrangements under the care of Daniels Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home.