Marian Canfield, 97, passed away on May 10 in Sarasota, Florida. She was born June 11, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the only child of Olga and Nick Ebeltoft. She graduated from Fargo High School in 1938, and then attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. After graduating, she served for four years as executive secretary to the Director of the newly-built and nationally-recognized Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota. It was there she caught the eye of Arnold, a promising law student.
Marian and Arnold married in Washington DC in 1945, after Arnold returned from serving on a Destroyer in the Pacific. His career involved many moves (Washington, DC; Seattle, WA; Ridgewood, NJ; Barrington Hills, IL; Dallas, TX; Corona del Mar, CA; Pittsburgh, PA) which Marian welcomed with a positive attitude and a great sense of adventure. They both had a knack for making friends and discovering the best of what each new home had to offer. Some of Marian’s great pleasures during these years were hosting friends and visitors from around the world, and hiking and backpacking
When Arnold retired in 1982, they moved to Sarasota and relished their daily sunrise walks on Siesta Key Beach; serving as docents at the Ringling Art Museum; volunteering at Palms Hospital and the Friendship Center; and traveling extensively in the US and abroad. During Marian’s last 21 years she happily lived in Bay Village where she made many new friends and stayed very active.
Marian is loved and remembered for her kindness to all, her genuine curiosity about people and places; her love of reading and openness to new ideas and ways of thinking, her many creative talents; her enjoyment and mastery of puzzles and games, and her favorite expressions which she lived by including “Don’t postpone joy.”
Marian is survived by two daughters, Susan Canfield (Seattle, WA) and Barbara Brown (Bradenton, FL), four grandchildren (Nick Brown, Michael Brown, Jennifer Lindal and David Feigal), and 8 great grandchildren. She was preceded by her husband, Arnold, and daughter, Joan, in 1998.
A Memorial Service will be held at Bay Village on June 11, 2018 at 2:30pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Bay Village Endowment Fund, 8400 Vamo Rd., Sarasota, FL 34231. Or Tidewell Hospice, 5057 Rand Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34238.
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