DUVAL, Marjorie (Marmie)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 07/11/2014 Marjorie Wheeler DuVal, 99, resident of Nashua, N.H., died peacefully Thursday, June 5, 2014, with her family close by. Her friends called her “Marmie” or “Puddleduck,” but to her family, she was not just “mom” but truly an inspiration. Marmie was born Sept. 14, 1914, to Florence Kelley “Fonce” Wheeler and Mark Wheeler in Goffstown, N.H. She and her twin sister, Dorothy, graduated from high school in Goffstown, then both went to Goucher College in Baltimore, Md., where they graduated in 1936. Marmie was president of her class and at 99 was the oldest living graduate of the college. She remained president of her College graduating class and while living in Maryland was very active in alumni activities at Goucher. After college, she worked as a librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library for many years during which time she met and married John P. Barker. After John served in the Public Health Service during World War II, they moved to Laurel, Maryland and raised four children: Jack Barker of Pinetop, Mark Barker of Evergreen, Colorado, Mary Helen Mena of Middleville, Mich., and Charles Barker of Mont Vernon, N.H. Marmie continued to work on and off until after age 70 as a children’s librarian in Maryland and in New Hampshire. Marmie was preceded in death by her parents, Mark and Fonce Wheeler of Franklin, N.H.; her twin sister, Dorothy “Dot” Lane of Franklin, N.H.; her first husband John Barker of Laurel, Md.; and her second husband, Robert DuVal, of Timonium, Md. She is survived by her four children, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Marmie loved reading and playing Scrabble, bridge and other board or card games, and she especially loved sailing the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in Maryland. But her first love were always her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their families. Marmie leaves a legacy of kindness, respect for others, of helping others, of respecting and seeing all people as equals, and of loving and living life to the fullest. The family will hold a memorial service in the fall to celebrate an extraordinary mother and person. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, New York, N.Y., or the Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago, Ill.