Mary Pauline Markson

Mary Pauline “Nana” Markson was born on June 29, 1938, to Paul and Mary Russell, in Oak Park, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. Her family name was originally Matuszewicz, which was too complex for American tongues, and therefore changed to Russell.

Mary lived in Appleton and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Boston, Massachusetts; Edwards Air Force Base, California; and she spent the final 55 years of her life living in San Diego, California.

Mary is survived by her husband, Dick “Pops” Markson, and her siblings, Carol and Larry.

She had five children with her husband, Leo Murphy: her handsome son, Patrick, and daughters Mary, Joan, Susan, and Annie. She is also survived by Dick’s children, Michael and Tracie. She leaves behind her seven grandchildren: Kathryn, Amanda, Anne Marie, Marianne, Nicholas, Christine, and Lauren. Her great-grandchildren are: Rhett, Maeve, Mary, Michael, Easton, Reese, Teagan, Brayden, William, Olivia, Abigail, and Cameron.

Mary loved family traditions – she made her mother's recipes for holidays year after year, and has passed them to her grandchildren, who are now keeping the tradition going. She loved holidays, and had Christmas cookie decorating parties every year with her grandchildren.

Mary loved to watch figure skating. She and Dick always enjoyed a good baseball game rooting for the Padres. They also traveled extensively, and especially enjoyed cruising. For fun, they would take short cruises along the California coast. Some of their favorite trips were to Alaska, the Mediterranean, and a 31-day trip around South America. On the South America trip, they passed through the Panama Canal, and rounded Cape Horn. They also saw Magellanic Penguins that live in Patagonia on this cruise.

Mary succumbed to the effects of dementia on March 22, 2025. She died peacefully in her sleep, in the company of her family.

Her family and friends will miss her dearly.