Dell Christine Franke Marcum

Dell lived a life filled with wonder and excitement and personal heart ache, but she will be remembered by friends, family and co-workers as a hard working, honest, funny and always gracious person who served as an inspiration to all who knew her.

Even well into her 80s, Dell maintained a regular work schedule as vice president of Houston’s Health & Fitness Sports Magazine, and participated in regular physical therapy and training sessions with a personal trainer. Dell consistently credited fulfilling her duties at the magazine for helping to keep her mentally sharp and engaged and the physical therapy sessions with keeping her body strong and healthy.

Dell explained how fortunate she felt to have been able to keep her mind and body active over the years. She was convinced that if she wasn’t as active as she was she would have been relegated to a rocking chair. She once said that if she missed a week of workouts, she couldn’t walk as well, her balance was thrown off and her energy level waned.

Dell had long ago earned the right to retire to the easy chair or bingo hall, but neither of those pursuits appealed to her. Up until recent health problems slowed her a bit, Dell could be found in her office five or six days a week and she wasn’t just shuffling papers or going through the mail. Dell handled complicated matters like payroll and accounting for the magazine.

A native of Thayer, Mo., Dell came to Texas shortly after World War II, first living in San Antonio, then moving to Houston in the early ‘90s, and worked in the New Mexico desert as part of the atomic bomb project. Her accounts of those mysterious, exciting and dangerous days were always enthralling, but Dell was not one to live in the past. She always looked forward to the next issue of the magazine, her next training session or next quiet dinner with friends.

She once said that, “Growing old isn’t easy. You must keep a positive attitude and work at it. Treat it just like you would a job.”

We could all learn a lot from that statement. But as we celebrate Dell’s life of selfless service to others, we salute her remarkable ability to stay active and engaged mentally and physically. It’s a reminder for all of us to consider the question, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”

She is survived by sister Ethelene Palmer, stepdaughter Dee Metler, daughter-in-law, Alice Marcum, and four grandchildren, Thomas E. Marcum, Jr., Jacob T. Marcum, Christina R. Marcum, and Amber L. Savage, and seven great-grandchildren.

Family and Friends will be received on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. at Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home for Dell’s Memorial Celebration.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society may be made in remembrance; envelopes will be made available at service.