Marjorie Salt Campbell

Marjorie Salt Campbell, age 84, passed away peacefully April 29, 2020 in Sunrise, Florida as a result of chronic medical conditions. She was born September 18, 1935 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England to parents Harold and Hannah Salt (nee Rhodes) and was big sister to brother Peter Salt who pre-deceased her.

Family and friends are invited to attend a live-streamed Celebration of Life on Saturday, May 16th at 1pm EST, 12pm CST, 6pm GMT hosted by Horizon Funeral and Cremation Services in Lighthouse Point, Florida. To watch the service live, please click on the following link and use the password Horizon2020 to join: https://www.horizonfuneralcremation.com/page/live-webcasting

A virtual reception will be held from 1:45pm – 3:45pm Eastern time. Please feel free to stop by, say hi, or drop a note via the chat function. Details on the virtual service and reception to follow.

Marj is survived by her daughter, Lisa (Rick) and step-grandchildren Abby and Nick, sister-in-law Roberta Salt (Neil), nephew Michael (Tina), niece Petra, nephew David (Jacqui), grand-nieces and -nephews Heather, Peter, Lilian, Edward, Holly and Louise and beloved cousins galore, including Sheila & Tom Birbeck, Glenys & Alan Loftus, John Hannon, Barbara Hill, Jean & Richard Davies, Philip & Sue Rhodes, Maureen & Peter Mellor, Geoffrey & Sandra Fuller, Rosemary & Frank Wright, Clive & Sheila Tew, and many more nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Marj had an unshakeable faith and knew in her heart she would one day be reunited with her brother, parents and numerous aunties, uncles, cousins and friends. This deep faith allowed her to face the end of life with grace and peace.

It is difficult to find the words to do justice to a life so rich. Marj was incredibly strong, had a fierce love and belief in her daughter, and had an incredible 30-year career with Barnes & Noble Bookstores at a time when women weren’t often in leadership roles. She was a beloved auntie, cousin and friend to loved ones across the US, Canada and her home country of England.

Those who knew Marj understand what a force of life she was. One of her favorite sayings was “Lisa, look at this as an adventure”. She was a confident and fearless woman and her bright smile and English accent could charm anyone.

Her confidence and fearlessness allowed her to cross lines and go where others didn’t dare tread. Now that she is beyond reach of the authorities, it is safe to share that Marj was an infamous smuggler of English bacon, Cheshire cheese, pork pies and oatcakes into airports across North America.

A born entertainer, Marj loved her years with the Bedford Singers, a women’s choir in Stoke-on-Trent. Marj always made a point to visit the choir director, May Wally, and reminisce about the choir, as well as various pranks and shenanigans initiated by Marj and friends Murielle Garner and Deidre Keeling.

At age 21, Marj left Stoke-on-Trent with the intent of traveling around the world. She sailed across the Atlantic aboard the Empress of Britain bound for Montreal. The crossing was a rocky one - Marj loved to tell the story of how one evening she was one of only four passengers who braved it to the dining room amid the choppy seas.

Her first stop was Toronto, where she planned to find a job and earn enough money to move onto her next worldly destination. But those plans were derailed when she met and fell in love with a handsome young Irishman. Marj was fond of telling the story of how they met while ice skating. Trevor fell on top of her and Marj said ‘You’ll have to get up, they’re playing the national anthem’.

They married and moved to Detroit to be near Trevor’s godparents, Sam and Matilda (aka Auntie Tiny) Watt. As newlyweds, they enjoyed family gatherings, going to jazz clubs and attending some wild parties! Marj gave birth to her daughter, Lisa, in 1963.

Trevor’s job with General Electric’s jet engine division took the family to Rhode Island, a place Marj loved. She made many friends there and was known for her blue convertible Camaro with daisies on it and a license plate that said HI BABY. Marj and Trevor later divorced, which involved Marj making a 24-hour trip to Haiti in order to expedite the process. If you wanted a quick divorce in the 70’s, Haiti was the place.

While in Rhode Island, Marj got Lisa started with riding lessons and bought her a pony named Blazer who became part of the family. Despite not being a rider herself, Marj was quite attached to Blazer and he would often rest his head on her shoulder for a nap between classes at horse shows.

Marj loved her career with Barnes & Noble bookstores. She loved the books and the ‘rush’ of excitement when classes started. But mostly she loved working with the students. She gave hundreds of people their first job and launched thousands of careers.

She opened B&N’s first ‘mall store’ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the early 70’s. It was so notable to have a woman in that type of position that Marj was invited to appear on a local morning news shows. Over the course of her career, she held positions of increasing responsibility, including bookstores at the University of Rochester, the State University of New York at Albany and Wayne State University in Detroit. She held regional manager positions in the Midwest and across Florida.

Marj was a role-model for young women, especially her daughter Lisa. Marj ‘took her daughter to work’ before that was even a thing. College bookstores typically run extended hours the first couple of weeks of each semester, so Lisa would often go to the store after school when she was a young girl. Lisa and her friends Amy and Rhonda worked at the bookstore doing everything from receiving shipments of books to taking inventory and running the cash registers.

Marj had a love of words and language. She was a voracious reader, did the New York Times daily crossword puzzle and loved to play Scrabble. When playing Scrabble with Marj, you always knew she had a humdinger coming when she would anxiously rap her fingernails on the table while waiting her turn, then excitedly lay down a seven-letter word across a triple-word square.

Marj had an incredibly quick wit. Once when she and Lisa were looking for a parking space, a car nipped in and ‘stole’ Lisa’s parking space. Lisa was quite mad and imaging various ways to exact revenge on the renegade motorist. Marj put her hand on Lisa’s arm and said “Now Lisa, two rudes don’t make a polite.”

You may be surprised to hear that Marj was an avid football fan – American football! She loved the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Miami Dolphins.

Marj loved the ocean. Maybe her love of the beach started as a young girl, visiting Blackpool on holidays with her parents and little brother, Peter. In Rhode Island, she often took Lisa and their black Labrador, Irish, for walks on Narragansett Beach. They spent many a weekend at Galilee Beach, grabbing clam cakes at George’s for a quintessential New England dinner. Marj loved camping at the Cape Ann campground in Gloucester, Massachusetts and enjoyed visiting her favorite places, Wingaersheek Beach and Rockport. Even in Michigan, Marj had an apartment over-looking Ford Lake where she would sneak out at dusk to cut down tree branches that impeded her view.

Like all Rhodes women, Marj elevated shopping to Olympic proportions. When Lisa was living in Chicago and Marj was in Florida, they met in Boston for a weekend which included several fun-filled hours at Filene’s Basement. For many years, Marj and Lisa had a unique Black Friday tradition in Hallandale, Florida. After soaking up the sun at the pool and noshing on turkey sandwiches for lunch, they headed to Macy’s at the Aventura Mall around 6pm, just as other shoppers were heading home.

Marj loved her family more than anything and enjoyed hosting family from England and Canada. Her parents, Hannah and Harold, and her Aunties Violet and Rose, Auntie Dorothy and Uncle Alan, Auntie Nancy and Uncle Ernie, and cousins Sheila and Tom, Glenys and Alan, Jean, Clive, Barbara, Geoffrey, and many others visited Marj.

During a particularly memorable trip, Marj and Lisa took Hannah, Violet, and Rose on a road-trip through New England and Canada. “The Ladies” loved reading all the signs and bumper stickers along the way – out loud. “New York! Marjorie are we going to NEW YORK?’ And while parked in Niagara Falls, Auntie Violet’s voice came tittering from the back seat, reading out loud “If this van’s a-rocking, don’t come a-knocking”.

Marj had 50 first cousins and when visiting England, she always organized Cousins Night at a local pub. It was a great time to reconnect with the Salt and Rhodes sides of the family.

Marj was incredibly resourceful – there wasn’t a problem she couldn’t solve. Much of the problem-solving involved Daisy, her bright yellow 1977 Chevy Chevette named Daisy was bright yellow. Marj had many adventures involving Daisy including:

- A snowy Christmas Eve – when Marj and Lisa were driving to Canada to visit Sheila, Tom, Richard, and Tim - the turn signal / windshield wiper control snapped off the steering column. The drive to Canada was punctuated by stops every hour to open the hood and connect or disconnect the wiper mechanism as needed.

- A drive from New York to Michigan, when steam started pouring out from under Daisy’s hood. Marj quickly identified the source of the problem – a hose with a hole in it. She instructed Lisa to grab a pair of panties then proceeded to tie those very panties around the broken hose. The solution worked long enough to get them to a service station where the mechanic, impressed with Marj’s ingenuity, asked ‘Are those your underwear?’

In 2008, Marj moved to a retirement community in Deerfield Beach with her three cats, Simon, Sydney and Sunny. She soon became involved in various governance roles at Century Village. Over the years, she was president of her 72-unit condo-building and a board member of COOCVE, as well as serving as an Area Chair and member of the recreation committee. Many people looked to Marj for advice and counsel and her guidance and can-do attitude will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the charity of your choice. Marj was a life-long blood donor to the American Red Cross, and the many blood transfusions she received in her later years were truly lifesaving. In Canada, please consider donating to the May Court Club of Brockville, Ontario.

Online condolences may be made at www.horizonfuneralcremation.com