Marjorie Ellen Artzer

Marjorie was born in Sterling, CO on July 21, 1934, the eldest daughter of Elbert Wilson Coats Jr. and Edith Alice Howard Coats. She received her early education in the Sterling, CO public schools, her B.A. degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha summa cum laude; her M.A. from George Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and her Ph.D. from Miami University of Ohio. She and John Artzer III were married in 1952 in Albuquerque, NM where he was serving in the United States Air Force.

She will be remembered as a devoted wife, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a dedicated educator.

She taught Spanish at Benson High School, Omaha, NE; George Peabody Demonstration School, Nashville, TN; and Northwest High School, Cincinnati, OH.

After receiving her doctorate she taught in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Miami University and at Northern Kentucky University in the School of Education as a tenured associate professor of secondary education. While at NKU she also served as Director of Teacher Education and Director of Graduate Studies. After moving to Williamsburg, VA she worked as a foreign language supervisor for the College of William and Mary and as a mentor for first-year teachers at Old Dominion University.

She served as President of the Ohio Foreign Language Teachers Association, a program evaluator for the North Central Association of Schools and on various committees and other assignments for the Kentucky Department of Education.

She was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church USA and was an active member of Jamestown Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg where she served as a lay leader and on the Mission and Budget Committees. She served as a volunteer interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients at Olde Town Medical and Dental Center, as a tutor at Literacy for Life, and as a Bible Study teacher at Brookdale Retirement Center. She was a member of Chapter BQ/VA of the P.E.O. Sisterhood and had served as Chapter President.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, John Artzer III; her sister,

Dona Grace Adkins; her step granddaughter, Stacy Philips; and her parents. She is survived by two sons, Mark B. Artzer and wife Charla of Williamsburg, Cole W. Artzer and wife Sue of Flower Mound, TX; a sister, Alice Louis Kupilik and husband Michael of Missoula MT; four grandchildren; Sarah Artzer and husband Miguel Donate of Savannah, GA, Bea Artzer and husband Matthew Schwaner of Virginia Beach, John Artzer and wife Ashley of Flower Mound, TX, Nicole Artzer and husband John Neiburh of Los Angeles, CA; and a step grandson, Scott Philips and wife Jennifer of Charlotte, NC. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends at Jamestown Presbyterian Church on October 28, 2023 at 11:00am. A reception at the church will immediately follow the service.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Jamestown Presbyterian Church.

Online condolences may be shared at www.nelsenwilliamsburg.com.