Marie Brassfield Coolidge

Marie Brassfield Coolidge, 98, of Sacramento, California died peacefully on May 18, 2019. Born in Trenton Missouri on June 12, 1920, Marie was the daughter of Frank Brassfield and Alice Hart. She was predeceased by her husband John Coolidge of LaGrande Oregon (1908-1980), by her partner Clifford Gallupe of Portland Maine (1917-2013), and by her brother Eugene Brassfield of Trenton Missouri (1917-2005). She is survived by her three sons John Jr. (Linda Coolidge, step grandchildren Dawn Swoboda and Dennis and step great grandchild Brianna), Bruce (Ann Labriola), Steven (Nixa Schell), and by her grandchildren Hannah and Sam Coolidge.

After leaving the farm to work as a teacher in Missouri, Marie in 1943 moved to Santa Ana California, where she worked at the Air Force base and met her husband, then second lieutenant John Coolidge. Together they moved over their years together to Washington DC, Paris France, Wiesbaden Germany, Silver Spring Maryland, Long Beach California, Arlington Virginia, Benidorm Spain, and Sacramento. Marie returned to teaching in 1967 and taught in the San Juan School District for almost 20 years. After the death of her husband John, she met her partner Cliff. Both had suffered the loss of their spouses but gratefully, to the surprise of both, experienced the comforts and joys of a new companionship, and a new family, for many more years.

Marie cherished her friends and family beyond everything, and she will be remembered for her warmth, her kindness, and her unflagging devotion to the things and people that mattered to her. She loved teaching and she loved her students, a number of who kept in touch even into their adulthood. After her retirement, Marie was a fountain of creative quilting, and a part of her legacy will be the dozens of quilts she gave to people she loved.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Wildland Firefighters Foundation (wffoundation.org) .