Marion O. McCaw Garrison

Marion O. McCaw Garrison

Marion O. McCaw Garrison passed away Tuesday after a short illness. She lived an amazing and full life of 95 years filled with devoted family and friends alike.

Born Marion Mary Oliver on June 18, 1917 to William Hugh and Marion Camp Oliver, she grew up in Centralia, Washington. She experienced a nourishing mix of responsibility and leisure that included horseback riding at her grandfather's farm, music and math at school, and inventories in her father's hardware store. Following high school and a year of junior college, she entered the University of Washington, where she excelled in mathematics and took a special interest in business. Marion so impressed her professor with a statistical study she performed for a timber company that he suggested she become a certified public accountant. While delighted by the reinforcement, she was not devastated when he rescinded his advice by saying that "the men on the CPA board . . . will never certify a woman!"Still, she was one of the very first female accounting graduates of the UW business school in 1939 and embarked on an astonishing journey guided by the compass she found in family, community and industry.

After completing her B.A. with honors, and with a loan from her father who was determined that she refine her business skills, she bought 40 acres of stump land near Olympia and developed it into a waterfront subdivision known as Edgewater Beach. In the 1940 census, although unmarried and living in her parents' home, her occupation is listed as "real estate agent"- a surprising label for a woman at the time.

On March 21, 1942, she married John Elroy McCaw from Aberdeen. With a degree in business administration from WSU and an FCC Engineering License, Elroy was an energetic and farsighted entrepreneur who founded the first radio station, KELA, in Centralia in 1937. He also had interests in Centralia real estate, notably the Lewis and Clark Hotel, and would become well known as a prominent broadcaster and for his handshake deals, creative drive and diverse business interests. The couple had accelerated their wedding due to Elroy's impending departure for military service in World War II. Marriage put Marion's accounting skills and business sense to use managing Elroy's interests as well as her own. Throughout the war, she commuted from Washington D.C. when necessary while Elroy served at Army Air Forces Headquarters in the Pentagon as Executive Officer and Special Assistant to General McClelland, head of USAAF communications. He was also McClelland's liaison to OSS.

After the war, Marion started her own radio station KAPA (Kappa) in Raymond, Washington and would be deeply involved in the family's complex business affairs throughout her life. In addition, she raised four boys-Bruce, Craig, John, and Keith. The family moved to Seattle in 1953 where she pursued her life long love of music and became an active force in the arts.

Elroy's untimely death in 1969 brought a whole new set of challenges. Marion steered the estate through probate, avoiding what some declared certain insolvency and then oversaw the family communications company as the younger boys finished school and also worked on the family business between studies. As the sons assumed larger roles in the family business, they moved into new and expanded ventures - cable television and wireless communications. Craig assumed leadership of McCaw Cablevision & Cellular Communications and his brothers would play other roles in the companies, but Marion remained Chairman Emeritus, and her sons (and the other executives) always listened carefully to her wisdom when she spoke, particularly when she would admonish the men about their frequent tendencies towards irresponsible spending.

In 1971, Marion married John L. Scott - an immigrant Scot and Seattle real estate leader, who died in 1986. In 1991, she married Seattle attorney DeWitt Williams, who passed away in 1995. Marion would find one last partner, marrying Bob Garrison, a childhood neighbor from Centralia, in 1999. Bob left us in 2006. With each marriage came a new family and new adventures.

Asked once what advice she would give to young business graduates today, Marion replied, "There is no limit to what you can achieve - whether you're a man or a woman. The opportunities are there if you reach for them, and keep moving toward them, with determination."

Marion was a Founding Member of Seattle Opera Board of Trustees, a former Board member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and served on numerous local boards including Seattle Symphony, Corporate Council for the Arts, ACT Theater and PNW Ballet. She played a vital role in the restoration of the organ and the completion of the West Wall at St. Mark's Cathedral.

She was a member of Daughters of the American Revolution and Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, legacy sister of P.E.O Sisterhood, and was a member of Seattle Yacht Club, Rainier Club, Sunset Club and Seattle Tennis Club.

Marion is survived by her sister Janice Burt and husband Calvin, and her three sons, Bruce, Craig, and John. Keith, the youngest, died in 2002. She adored her fifteen grandchildren and one great grandchild and was deeply loved by all who knew her. We will never forget her, and will miss her tremendously, always.

Private services will be held by the family with a Memorial Celebration to be held late summer or early fall. The family requests no flowers and contributions may be made to Seattle Opera or other local arts and musical organizations or charities of your choice.