Marian MacGhee

Born July 10th, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan, Marian MacGhee lived to eighty-nine years. The family moved from Detroit, Michigan to Toledo, Ohio. Marian was the only daughter of Ross Harbaugh and Florence Page Harbaugh. Her mother worked as a teacher, and father worked as a civil engineer. She was the beloved niece of Charlotte Page, who was an artist and art historian for the City College of Toledo. Marian graduated high school in 1941 and went on to the Toledo College. She did well there and belonged to a sorority. Marian went on to graduate and then started teaching French at. Mrs. Bolton's Day School in Connecticut was followed by a position at the National Cathedral School for Girls, Washington, DC. Gettysburg College followed the National Cathedral School, and was fortunate for Marian, because she met Peter Forrest MacGhee while she was there. Aside from teaching Spanish at Gettysburg College, while she was there she attended Middlebury College during the summers and acquired her Master of Arts degree in Spanish. During her time at Gettysburg, Marian met Peter MacGhee. She married him on December 27th, 1952 at St Marks Church in Toledo, Ohio and then moved to New Jersey. They settled first into a small apartment in Pennsauken, NJ and then found a better home in an apartment in Haddonfield, NJ. During this time Marian was hired as an instructor in Spanish, at Rutgers College, in Camden, NJ. She worked at Rutgers, in Camden, for over twenty years, rising from an instructor to her professorship, taking time off for two children, and returning to teach as an Assistant Professor. Marian owned homes in Willingboro, NJ and later in Moorestown, NJ. She lived in the home in Moorestown from 1965 to her death, and it was a constant source of pride. Marian gave birth to three children,. Her first child was a girl, Anne Page MacGhee born August 15th, 1953, who died shortly after birth. Her second child, Peter Forrest MacGhee Jr., and her third child, William Page MacGhee, survive to this day. Peter was born on January 15th, 1956 and William was born on February 25th, 1960. The loss of her first child caused great suffering. Following her twenty years at Rutgers University, Marian taught Spanish at Gloucester County Community College while she studied social work at Rutgers University. She earned her Masters of Social Work (MSW) at Rutgers University on May 23rd, 1980. She joined The Bancroft School as a Social Worker. Marian went on to the Burlington Township School System, as a School Social Worker on the Child Assessment Team until her retirement. Marian was an avid gardener. She loved horticulture and landscaping, her yards at both the houses in Willingboro and in Moorestown showed this. The house in Moorestown, where she lived to her death, still shows her the effects of her work. Her gardens had flowers that had originally been passed on to her by her mother and her aunt. Marian was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution National Chapter, as was her mother and grandmother. She was able to trace her family to Daniel Moor, a revolutionary soldier. Marian passed away on February 5th, 2013 at the Samaritan Hospice in Mt. Holly, NJ from Alzheimer’s disease. She is survived by her husband, Peter Forrest MacGhee; son, Peter Forrest MacGhee Jr., and his wife Kathleen; three grandchildren; Courtney Sullivan and her husband Ryan; two great-grandchildren, Kayla and Natalie, Sean and his wife Sarah; and Lindsay MacGhee and her boyfriend John; her second son, William Page MacGhee, and his wife Elizabeth Chaney; one grandchild, Sarah Anne. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001

Marian MacGhee

February 5, 2013