Marjorie M. Price's Obituary
Marjorie M. Price
“Muggs” Gowin
7/11/17 – 6/22/16
Mom lived up to her maiden name because she was always goin’. Raised in Minot, ND, she and Dad moved here via the Army. Their first home in South Tacoma continued to be Mom’s home for the next 68 years. If you grew up in the ‘hood, you probably knew her.
Perhaps she helped your Mom choose your school clothes at the South Tacoma JC Penney store where she started in 1951 or, after that closed, at the Mall store. She spent 26 years with the company.
Or maybe you remember her from PTA activities at Edison, Gray, Lincoln, or Mount Tahoma. She helped with these for 13 years and was proud of her Golden Acorn Award.
Did you attend Pine St. Christian Church? That’s where Mom and Dad were baptized as adults and we kids attended Sunday school.
If you drove down her street you recognized her working in her flower beds bent over at the waist with her fanny in the air—a vision the neighbor kids still remember.
How about those Rainiers? If you attended games before Cheney Stadium was remodeled, you probably visited with her in her box seat behind first base.
Did you attend water exercises at the Tacoma Elks? She did until the pool closed. But that didn’t break up the group. They just traded exercise for a quarterly gathering for lunch.
Were you in Toastmasters? Mom joined in 1982 as a charter member of Word Weavers. The next 25 years saw her serving in club and district leadership and traveling all over North America to attend conferences. She even travelled with a group of TMs to Russia to start new clubs! She delighted in having been dubbed the “Region Mum” by Region Toastmasters.
Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but our Mom left our inheritance in other exotic places like New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the Caribbean, and around the US. We encouraged her to travel and spend as much of our inheritance as she could (it was a family joke).
Hours of playing Skip-Bo while camping. Taking a hot air balloon ride for her 75th birthday. Loving the puppies and cats she had through the years. Making gifts from plastic canvas needlepoint. Cooking up a batch of killer hash in a heavy cast iron skillet for her family. All these added to Mom’s life. But she had one regret— never jumping from an airplane. Her ortho doc didn’t want her to take a chance with her knee replacements. She fortunately never took him up on his alternate idea—bungie jumping!
Marge is predeceased by husband, Jerry, and her parents, Ira and Ada Gowin. Survivors are son Dick (Karen), daughter Darleen (Al Wittich), Diamond (her beloved Maltese), and friends around the world.
A celebration of life will be held on July 11 at 1:00 which would have been her 99th birthday. It’s only fitting that the celebration be followed by a birthday party. All will be held in the Aspen Chapel building at Mountain View Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, Mom asked that donations be made to your local Humane Society.
What’s your fondest memory of Marjorie?
What’s a lesson you learned from Marjorie?
Share a story where Marjorie's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Marjorie you’ll never forget.
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