Marjorie Cole Shay

November 6, 2019

Marjorie Cole Shay, age 100, died November 6 at her home, The Evergreens, in Moorestown, N.J. Marjorie Corinne Cole was born in 1919 in Binghamton, N.Y. to Jacob L., and Corinne Weller Cole. The family resided in the Brick House section of Montague, N.J., in her great grandfather Judge Martin Cole’s homestead. After attending the one room Montague Brick House Elementary School, she graduated in 1936 from Port Jervis High School, in N.Y. State. Moving to Branchville, N.J., she was employed in 1937 by Selected Risks Insurance Company as a secretary. In 1943, in the Minisink Dutch Reformed Church in Montague, where she was a member, she married Gerald Seth Shay who died in 2008. After S/Sgt Shay returned from WWII, they lived in Branchville for 55 years until they moved to Florida. An active member of the United Methodist Church in Branchville for over 50 years, she also sang in the choir. She served on the Branchville Board of Education and was a Past Matron of Owassa Chapter #43, OES. During WWII, she was a Branchville Plane Spotter at the lookout station and a member of Dr. Lushear’s First Aid Group at that time. An avid golfer and member of the Newton Country Club for over 40 years, she was a president of the Ladies Golf Assoc. With her husband, she enjoyed birdwatching and they traveled in this pursuit as far as the Texas Rio Grande, Alaska, and Australia. Survivors are son, Steven S. Shay MD and wife, Anne R. of Morrisville, N.C., daughter, Pamela J Eickhoff and husband Karl W., of Moorestown, four grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, a foster daughter, Susan H. Leonard and husband, Edmund Thornton, of Wynnewood, Pa, and several nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by two sisters, Jeanne O’Kroy and Carolyn Perry. Burial service of cremains will be in the Branchville cemetery at the convenience of the family. Memorial gifts may be given to the United Methodist Church of Branchville, P.O. 509, Branchville, NJ 07826.