Marjorie Page

Marjorie Clark Page, 90, died on November 9, 2015. Marjorie was born in East Montpelier, Vermont on January 22, 1925, to Harold and Abby (Arbuckle) Clark. She grew up in East Montpelier and Barre, Vermont and graduated from Spaulding High.Despite an early and significant hearing loss, and the loss of her brother and mother during her teen years, Marjorie went on to live a full and happy life. Throughout her life she had the most beautiful smile and was unfailingly kind and sincere.She attended UVM thanks to the Wilbur Scholarship, graduating with a B.S. in English in 1948, and went on to do her teacher training at Lyndon College. Before her marriage, she taught kindergarten at Bennington Elementary where she was known and loved as "Miss Marge". During this time she and two friends bicycled across Europe.Marjorie married John Calvin Page in 1956, and they had four children, Sarah, Nancy, Mark, and Paul. They first lived on Elm Street and then Grandview Street in Bennington. During this time Marjorie acted as a busy mother and housewife. She raised her children and kept her home with patient, loving, kindness. She read countless books to her growing children, made their clothes, cooked three good meals daily, canned and froze the bountiful harvests from John's gardens, wallpapered, painted, and stenciled every room of her home, taught her daughters to sew and, for many years, knit sweaters for each of her children every year for Christmas. Marjorie and John's children all attended public schools and college and went on to be happily married. When grandchildren came, she and John took care of the older children in their home for as long as they could and found great joy in doing that. Her five grandchildren were the pride of her world.Marjorie was active in the community. She read at story hour at the local library and was a Girl Scout Troop Leader of Troop 246. She was an active member of the Second Congregational Church, serving as both a deacon and the local president of Church Women United, and running the Chinese Auction at the Snowball Bazaar. She belonged to the Tuesdays, a group of women who met weekly to discuss articles they had read. She cooked and entertained friends from near and far as the family hosted several exchange students and leaf peepers. She was well known in the community for her daily walks and for her consistent use of the Bennington Free Library.Marjorie and John loved to travel. Pemaquid Point in Bristol, Maine was a favorite family destination. They toured the Canadian Maritimes with the family and, after John's retirement, visited Scotland and Alaska, and drove all over the country's West, enjoying the splendor of our national parks.Marjorie suffered from two serious bouts of illness in her life, a nasty bout of phlebitis when she was in her forties and a life-threatening episode of spinal meningitis when she was in her seventies. Both times she fought her way back to health with tenacity and grit. Her family and friends are thankful to have had her with us for as long as we have.During Marjorie's elderly years John acted as his wife's helpmate and, when that was no longer possible, they moved into the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation where they shared a room.Marjorie was predeceased by her beloved husband John Calvin Page who died September 7, 2015, and siblings Paul Clark, Richard Clark, and Jennie Clark; in-laws Anita Clark and Johanna Page; grandchildren, Victoria and Colleen Page, as well as close family friend Barbara Greve.Marjorie is survived by her daughters Sarah Page and husband Robert Wescott, of Duxbury, Vermont, and Nancy Doyle and husband Bill Doyle of Washington, D.C., and her sons, Mark and wife Susan and their children Owen, Grace, and Evan of Bennington, and Paul and wife Lisa and their children Abby and Colin of Annandale, Virginia; also by her siblings Douglas (Donna) Clark of Chebeague Island, Maine, Diane (Ernie) Nichols of Walpole, New Hampshire, and David (Kathleen) Clark of Huntington; also by her in-laws, Charlie Page and David Schraeger, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.The family would like to thank Dianne Lamb for her many visits, Toni Degennaro for helping to keep Marge and John in their home for their last three years there, and the generous and supportive staff of the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation. Their kind, attentive care made Marjorie's last years good ones.There will be a memorial service at the Second Congregational Church in Bennington at 11am on Saturday, November 21, 2015, with a time to visit with the family afterward. There will be no calling hours.The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Bennington Free Library in Marjorie's memory c/o Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home, P.O. Box 957 Bennington, VT 05201 There will be a memorial service at the Second Congregational Church in Bennington at 11am on Saturday, November 21, 2015, with a time to visit with the family afterward. There will be no calling hours.