Marjorie Louise Montgomery

Marjorie Louise Montgomery, previously Marjorie Sams, née Wesp, minister emeritus of the First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth, TX, and former minister of The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, MA, died at the age of 89 on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025.

Born December 2, 1935 in Buffalo, NY to Florence and Edward Wesp, raised a Lutheran, Marjorie cultivated an early love of traditional church music. She attended the Wilmington Friends School in Delaware, receiving the Mendenhall award given to “the senior whose ideals and service to the school make her or him an outstanding member of the graduating class,” having volunteered at the duPont Institute of the Nemours Foundation in Wilmington, a children’s hospital known for research in pediatric orthopedics, and subsequently travelling to France as a summer work project volunteer.

Marjorie graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in Music, specializing in piano and organ performance, and fondly recalled her time singing with a student choir and social organization, the “Wellesley Widows.” At Wellesley, she learned to play a church organ, and took a bible study course that sparked a lifelong interest in religious study, along with her love of music and dedication to service, and later ministry.

In New York, NY, Marjorie taught private piano lessons and worked as a church choir director and organist while attending classes at Union Theological Seminary where she received a Master’s degree in Religious Education. She also worked as a summer student at Passavant Hospital, NY, as a part of a Lutheran initiative to encourage church-interested young people in service roles.

In Arlington, TX, Marjorie helped to found the Junior (Women's) League of Arlington and the Arlington Medical Auxiliary. She assisted in organizing one of the community’s first children's day cares, in fund raising for the YMCA and in advocating for city parks. She was asked to run for City Council, but did not choose to pursue politics.

In Dallas, TX, Marjorie worked as Religious Education director and Minister in Training at the First Church in Dallas, Unitarian Universalist, and completed her Master of Divinity at Southern Methodist University on the way to ordination as a Unitarian Minister.

In Belmont, MA, Marjorie served as the Minister of the First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist from 1976 to 1980, guest lectured at Harvard Divinity School, and co-authored the book, “Living Through Your Divorce” with Earl A. Grollman.

In Fort Worth, TX, Marjorie served as the Minister of the First Jefferson Church (now All People’s Church), Unitarian Universalist from 1980 to 1990, where she doubled the membership to over 200 and led a capital fund raising and building project transforming the building with a new sanctuary, offices, library, and garden. Upon retiring from full time ministry, Marjorie was awarded the title Minister Emeritus by First Jefferson Church in 1995. She continued her work for the Unitarian Universalist Association, as an Interim Minister in Las Cruces, NM, and filling in part time as a guest Minister at several locations including the UU Fellowship of Waco from 1990 to 1993, Westside UU Church in Fort Worth, and other churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. In addition to preaching, she filled leadership roles in the Unitarian Universalist Association, including President of North Texas Ministers, as a Programming Consultant and as Southwest District Ministerial Settlement Representative to help place many ministers in churches. She was recognized for her service to the UUA with the Russell Lockwood award in 2001. Her legacy includes a collection of over 150 published sermons. Outside the church, Marjorie was a leader in Toastmasters, President of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County, and organizer of Crop Walks for Hunger in the Southwest Region, receiving recognition as a “Volunteer of the Year” in 1991 by Tarrant County Community of Churches. She was honored by the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2008 as the “Civil Libertarian of the Year.”

Marjorie and husband Duane joined the Trinity Terrace Retirement Community in 2008, where she continued to immerse herself in good conversation, music, and friendship for the remainder of her life. She was a mainstay in the choir and at the piano, giving hundreds of hours in musical performances. She organized discussions of ongoing learning videos, enjoyed many years of exercise in the swimming pool, shared quiet walks along the Trinity River, and hosted holiday parties for family and friends, while staying engaged in the civic causes she supported, with long ties to both church and community. Marjorie proudly cast her ballot in 17 Presidential Elections. She loved and supported local arts and culture, especially the Kimbell Art Museum, the Fort Worth Botanical Garden, and the Annual Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Marjorie is survived by sons Philip and Richard, stepdaughters Janelle and Stacy, and granddaughters Natalie and Jessica. She is also survived by her sister, Barbara Murry of Rockville, MD and first cousin, Jim Norton of Wooster, OH. Marjorie was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, Robert Duane Montgomery, by her former husband, Dr. Joseph Terence Sams, and by her beloved daughter Valerie.

A Memorial Service is planned for 2pm on May 8 at the Robert F. Jones Chapel at Trinity Terrace in Fort Worth, TX