Marjorie Harland Barker Diedrich

MARJORIE WAS A CHRISTIAN WOMAN WHO HAD STRONG MORAL AND ETHIC BELIEFS, WHICH MADE HER A PERSON, TO BE LOVED AND RESPECTED. HER DEVOTION TO FAMILY TRADITION, THE BIBLE AND TEN COMMANDMENTS MADE HER AN EXAMPLE AND INSPIRATION TO HER FAMILY AND ALL, WHO CROSSED HER PATH.

SHE AND HER HUSBAND, OF NEARLY 73 YEARS, HAD LIVED IN SARASOTA SINCE 1981; HAVING LIVED IN CORAL GABLES, FL; GILFORD, NH; IRVING, TX; LIMA, PERU, SOUTH AMERICA; WEST LAFAYETTE, IN; EAST DETROIT, MI; AND ELMHURST, IL.

SERVICE WILL BE AT THE ROBART TOALE AND SONS FUNERAL HOME, AT 170 HONORE, SARASOTA, FL ON MARCH 9 AT 12:30 PM. FOLLOWED BY GRAVESIDE SERVICE AND INTERNMENT AT VENICE MEMORIAL GARDENS, 950 CENTER ROAD, VENICE, FL 34292.

MARJORIE WAS BORN IN HALFWAY, MI ON DECEMBER 31, 1921. SHE GREW UP IN ELMHURST, IL. SHE MET AND MARRIED BERNARD, IN EAST DETROIT, MI, IN 1942. THE BARKER FAMILY HAD RETURNED TO LIVE IN MICHIGAN IN 1937.

SURVIVORS INCLUDE HER SONS: BERNARD G., ROBERT B., JOHN H., AND DAUGHTERS: SUSAN T. CRADOCK, LISA A. BRADEN, AND CATHERINE W. RIVARD. BESIDES HER 8 CHILDREN, THERE ARE 20 GRANDCHILDREN, 27 GREAT GRANDCHILDREN, AND 2 GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. SHE ALSO LEAVES A BROTHER RICHARD H. BARKER OF SALEM, OR.

SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE AS A WIFE, MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT AND GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER. IN THE 1970’S SHE WAS APPROVED AND LICENSED FOR CARE OF FOSTER BABIES. THE CATHOLIC, JEWISH AND PROTESTANT FOSTER CARE AUTHORITIES OFTEN SENT HER BABIES OR YOUNG CHILDREN WITH ALLERGIES THAT NEEDED SPECIAL CARE. THESE BABIES WERE UNADOPTABLE UNTIL THE CAUSE OF THEIR ALLERGY WAS DETERMINED.

ALTHOUGH AN EXCELLENT BRIDGE PLAYER, SHE PREFERRED TO USE ANY SPARE TIME TO HELP WITH BABIES AND EVEN SOME UNWED MOTHERS. SHE IS WIDELY KNOWN, IN THE FAMILY, AS A CHAMPION SCRABBLE PLAYER; HAVING BESTED ALL CHALLENGERS, WHO DOUBTED HER ABILITIES. HER HUSBAND, CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL ATTEST TO THIS.

MARJORIE BECAME AN AUTHOR AND WAS VERY ACTIVE IN THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, AFTER THE MOVE TO SARASOTA, IN 1981. SHE SERVED ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND IS A MEMBER OF THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN PEN WOMEN.

HER INTERESTS INCLUDED FURNITURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN. SHE WAS AN AVIATRIX, IN HER EARLY YOUTH AND FLEW A WACO UPF SOLO, BEFORE HER FIRST CHILD WAS BORN.

SHE DID FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH, WROTE AND PUBLISHED THREE BOOKS, WHICH HAVE COPYRIGHTS AND ARE IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAD TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY AND MUCH OF THE RESEARCH FOR HER FAMILY HISTORY WAS PERSONALLY CONDUCTED IN ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND. HER PATERNAL ANCESTORS WERE FROM ENGLAND WHILE HER MOTHER’S FAMILY WERE QUAKERS AND EARLY AMERICANS. THE MATERNAL LINE EXTENDS FOR CENTURIES BACK IN BRITISH AND FRENCH HISTORY.

MEMORIALS MAY BE MADE TO ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, SARASOTA, FL. MASSES WILL BE SAID FOR THE ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS OF BERNARD J. AND MARJORIE H. DIEDRICH.