| Notes |
- MARION WHITNEY SMITH
Saturday, April 24, 2004 - Bangor (Maine) Daily News
MILLINOCKET - Marion W. Smith, 102, wife for more than 50 years of the late Kingman Smith II, passed away on Wednesday, April 21, 2004. She had been a resident of the Katahdin Nursing Home for the last nine years. She was born on Nov. 12, 1901, the daughter of the late Robert and Ida (Hoar) Whitney, and the great-granddaughter of Henry Parkman, who was honored to ride the white horse preceding Queen Victoria's carriage. She was brought up in Boston, Mass., and summered on Winthrop Beach. After her mother passed away at an early age, she went to live in West Newton with her Aunt Lillian and paternal grandmother. She graduated from Miss Sherman's Secretarial School in Boston, and had studied writing at the Palmer Institute of Authorship. In 1930, Marion's husband, Kingman, was offered an engineer position with "a substantial salary they could not refuse" to work at Great Northern Paper Co. in a small town in the middle of Maine. After arriving in Millinocket by train, Marion and Kingman made their home here because, "People were awfully nice and you don't forget that!" Marion wrote and researched extensively throughout her life, having written the following published works to her credit: 1953-Katahdin Fantasies, 1962-Algonquian and Abenaki Indian Myths, 1963-Strange Tales of Abenaki Shamanism, 1971-72-Weekly newspaper articles entitled, "Do You Remember?", 1971-Thoreau's West Branch Guides, 1972-Thoreau's Moosehead and Chesuncook Guides, 1986-Beacon Hill's Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 1990-Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, A Pictorial History, 1991-Rebellious Lollie Lawrence, and 1991-Sensational "Lucky-Lou" (the last two novels were co-written with her husband, Kingman). She also wrote several short stories, magazine articles, and unpublished novels. Her greatest accomplishment in her life was being the wife of Kingman Smith, who thought, "There was no one like Marion. When someone thinks you are special, you know it. Everyone wants to be made of. He was so good to me." When asked why she thought she was blessed with such a long life, her reply was "My grandmother was 105 when she died. I probably got it from that side. She had a great sense of humor. I just lived life naturally, taking things as they came. When Kingman died-that was the hardest, but I can't get him back. There were times when things haven't gone just right and I started to get the feeling of giving up, what's the use? Then I'd say, Oh cut it out Marion. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Of course it's worth it! The good Lord blessed me with a long life." Surviving are cousins, Mildred and Carl Eschelbach of Ventura, Calif.; a cousin and protector, Parkman Shaw of Brookline, Mass.; and a cherished niece, Janice Thaxter McIntosh of Old Town. She will be missed by the staff at Katahdin Nursing Home, where she was known for her gracious humor and for showing her gratefulness, often saying, "Thank you, dear" for even the least amount of care. She also will be sadly missed by two devoted friends, Jane MacKay and Colleen McLaughlin, who were fortunate to witness her quick-wit, her never-ending spirit, and her unconditional love. Visiting hours will be 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 25, at R.L. Bouchard Funeral Home, where funeral services will be held 10 a.m. on Monday, April 26, with Pastor Norman Rust officiating.
|
The H600 Project Genealogy DB
1901 - 2004 (102 years)