Marjorie Obenauf

Marjorie Cottingham Obenauf

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA: Marjorie Cottingham Obenauf, age 88 years, of Charlottesville, VA and Put-in-Bay, OH, died at the University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville on May 18, 2011.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 65 years, Carl F. Obenauf; daughter, Linda Obenauf Porterfield (H. William Porterfield, M.D.) of Keswick, VA; son Carl D. Obenauf, M.D. (Sharon Stuart Obenauf) of Port Clinton, OH; three grandchildren, Marli Porterfield Kerrigan, Esq. (Jack E. Kerrigan, Esq.) of Great Falls, VA, Erin Stuart Obenauf of Louisville, KY, and Laura Stuart Obenauf (Zach Wyer) of Kalamazoo, MI; five great-grandchildren, Kaelan, Rex, Casey, Grace and Ella Kerrigan of Great Falls, VA; and sister-in-law, Gladys Obenauf Diezel of Franklin Lakes, NJ. She is also survived by her step-grandchildren and their children, W. Scott Porterfield, Esq. (Susie Griffith) of Chicago [Olivia Porterfield (Ann Arbor, MI), Emma Porterfield (San Diego, CA) and Dan Porterfield (Chicago)], Jeffrey Lynn Porterfield (Aaron Porterfield) of Columbus, OH [Maggie Porterfield Grosso (Joe Grosso) (Columbus), Will Porterfield (San Francisco, CA), and Trenton, Connor and Quin Porterfield (Columbus)], Wendy Porterfield Modjeski (Ron Modjeski) of Lexington, KY [Tyler and Julianne Modjeski (Lexington)], and Todd Burke Porterfield, PhD. (Benoit Bolduc, PhD.) of Montreal, Canada and New York City. Marjorie was preceded in death by her loving parents, Lucile Brown Cottingham and Kenneth Charles Cottingham of Columbus and Put-in-Bay, OH.

Marjorie graduated from The Ohio State University, where she was a member of the Presidents Society, Alpha Phi Sorority and Mirrors Honorary. She met her husband during her first year of study. Following graduation, Marjorie worked as a job analyst with the federal government in Washington, D.C. She and Carl were married when he returned from naval service in the Pacific during World War II. While raising her family, Marjorie served as a substitute school teacher.

When her husband retired after 32 years with Beatrice Foods Company of Chicago, IL, they moved to Columbus, OH where ties with The Ohio State University were strong. Marjorie and Carl were long-time members of Trinity United Methodist Church, Marble Cliff, OH.

For more than 50 years, Marjorie and Carl spent as much time as possible at their Put-in-Bay, OH island home including every summer when Carl's retirement made that possible. When on South Bass Island, Marjorie was active in the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club and Lake Erie Islands Historical Society. In 2005, the couple moved to a retirement complex in Port Clinton, OH, taking the ferry across Lake Erie to spend summers at Put-in-Bay. Since late 2007, Marjorie and Carl have made their home at The Colonnades, a retirement complex in Charlottesville, VA near their daughter and son-in-law. They continued to summer at Put-in-Bay, proving the island connection first made by Marjorie's grandparents in 1912 was very strong.

Throughout her life, Marjorie remained passionate about her Ohio State Buckeyes, but after moving to Charlottesville found time to attend almost every University of Virginia football, baseball and men's and women's basketball games to root on the Cavaliers.

Marjorie was a very special and loved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. "Marge, Mom, Ami or Nana" as she was known will be greatly missed.

A donation in Marjorie's memory may be made to the Carl F. and Marjorie Cottingham Obenauf Agricultural Merit Scholarship, which the couple established at The Ohio State University in 1986. (Donations may be directed to: The Ohio State University Office of Development-College of Food, Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 216 Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Court, Columbus, OH 43210-1096, ATTN: Mary Yerina.)

Funeral arrangements were handled by Teague Funeral Service, Charlottesville. A private family celebration of Marjorie's life was held prior to interment in the family plot at Monticello Memory Gardens, Charlottesville.