Marjorie Stanley, 95

Marjorie Stanley was a beloved professor, minister, mother, grandmother and friend who navigated life with focus, determination, laughter and strongly held views.

She grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin on a music scholarship. Her interests shifted to economics and she later earned a doctoral degree from Indiana University.

During graduate school, she married John D. Stanley, and the couple had two sons, John and Bill. They initially settled in northern New York, later moving to Texas.

After focusing in the late 1950s and early 1960s on raising her sons, Marjorie began a career as a professor of finance at Texas Christian University. In the 1980s and 1990s, she felt called to ministry in the Episcopal Church and earned a master of divinity degree. Unable to be ordained to the Episcopal priesthood as a woman in Texas, and prepared to retire from TCU, she moved to North Idaho and was ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, where she served churches in Spokane, Sandpoint, and Bonners Ferry for over a decade. 

Marjorie was an avid outdoorswoman who delighted in birds, especially loons and osprey. She hiked and canoed with the “Monday Hikers” well into her 80s. She delighted in classical music, and thanks to the efforts of friends continued to attend the Spokane Symphony regularly until shortly before her death. She died peacefully at the age of 95, surrounded by her family. 

She is survived by her sons, John and Bill; daughter-in-law Judy; and grandchildren Ruth and Rosa. 

A memorial service will be held for her at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Episcopal Relief (episcopalrelief.org).

To leave a message or memory for the family, go to bonnersferryfuneralhome.com. Bonners Ferry Funeral Home is caring for the family.