Marion Greene

Marion Greene October 29, 1922 - April 9, 2011 Marion Greene died peacefully at home in San Rafael surrounded by her loving family, canaries singing, and blooming flowers gathered from her beloved gardens. She will be greatly missed and remembered as a person who lived life fully. Marion brought passionate enthusiasm to all her endeavors. A remarkable and dedicated gardener, she expressed her deep love of nature in magnificent gardens, enjoyed not only by her friends and family but also by a cornucopia of wildlife. An explorer at heart and avid traveler, she shared her fondness for the arts and nature with her cherished family and those she met throughout her life, from Ohio to Mexico and eventually to California, which she called home for the last 34 years. Marion was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Lyda and Horatio Ebert. She moved to Cleveland as a child and graduated from Ohio State University. Early work as a theater instructor to Cleveland's underserved youth reflected the principles she would carry as a tireless patron of the arts and committed advocate for social justice. In the 1960s she moved with her four children to Boca Raton, Florida, where she founded a Unitarian Universalist fellowship. Through her work with the Fellowship, she became involved in the civil rights movement in Florida and was a passionate advocate for integration. Later on, Marion moved to Mexico where she was involved with job development, health, and education issues in towns on the outskirts of Cuernavaca. In 1985, having returned to the U.S., she founded the LEF Foundation with her children, which is committed to contemporary arts and social activism. Marion was a board member of a range of Bay Area cultural institutions, a fervent supporter of progressive political organizations, and was dedicated to projects in disenfranchised communities. She worked with indigenous communities in California and Hawai'i for many years on cultural and land preservation concerns. One of her final and largest gifts, which she was especially proud of, helped found the Oakland School for the Arts, a college preparatory middle and high school. Marion is survived by four children - Laurey, Sarah, Byron and Lyda - and eight grandchildren - Max, Kate, Blaise, Zoe, Lily, Addison, Frances and Grace. A celebration of her life will be held later this fall in San Francisco. For details please contact Marina Drummer, LEF Foundation, at (415) 499-9591.