Marjorie Y. Compton

Marjorie Ann Yaple Compton died quietly on March 15th, just two months after the passing of her adored husband John. She was tended with love by care takers T.J. Murphy, India Cruite, and Chenita Craig from Blakeford-At-Home, and we will always be grateful for their devotion. Thanks also to Alive Hospice for their extraordinarily compassionate support.

Marjorie was born in Sandusky, Ohio on April 10, 1928. She studied English Literature, Theater, and Debate at The College of Wooster. Though she longed for a career on the New York stage, she took her theater director’s advice and grabbed a job teaching English, Forensics, and Theater at Hanover College. Soon, however, she followed her heart to New Haven, CT after marrying John Compton who was finishing his philosophy graduate work at Yale. There she worked in the Institute of Far Eastern Languages where she made connections in the Chinese-American community that lasted a lifetime.

After moving to Nashville for John’s job at Vanderbilt, she raised three children: Elizabeth Holly Compton Interlandi (Nashville, TN), Catherine Marchus Compton Swanson (Lexington, MA), and John Arthur Compton (Eagle, ID), and she became involved in several Vanderbilt women’s groups.

Marjorie dedicated much of her life to helping others. There was a long line of teenagers, graduate students, and relatives who sat on her kitchen stool and told her all their troubles. In 1972, having once considered a career in Social Work, she began a five year period volunteering on the Board of Directors for Family and Children’s Service, finishing the last year as its President. She was then hired as part of the Administrative Team and soon became full-time Director of Administration, a position she held for 15 years.

She was known for her wild flower and nutritional expertise, literary language tutorials, a piercing wit, and the ability to manage people, including her boss and her husband. She was especially proud of her four granddaughters, Nina Marie Interlandi Bell, Holly Catherine Interlandi, Mary Lindsay Interlandi, and Lisa Rachelle Christensen and of her great-grandson Samuel Lindsey Bell.

After 63 years of marriage, Marjorie did not wish to linger long without her college sweetheart. The two of them remain role models for many as a perfectly matched and devoted couple. We hope to have a memorial service in the early summer to honor and celebrate both of them.

In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a contribution to Family and Children’s Service (201 23rd Ave, Nashville, TN 37203, Attention: Michael McSurdy, CEO)

Arrangements under the direction of Marshall Donnelly Combs Funeral Home, Nashville, Tennessee.