In the small town of Somers, New York, Cherrie Sarah Marcus, was born to Freeman and Rose Pirano Riley on November 17, 1910. Following business school, she became a secretary at Curtis Wright Aeronautical, in Patterson, N.J., where she met and married the love of her life, Woodrow Marcus.
Her second love began in childhood and lasted throughout her life-cats and kittens. For many years she and Woodrow allowed a splendid pair of Siamese cats to share their household. In later life, no less than fifty stuffed, fuzzy and cuddly critters decorated her room at the Panorama Convalescent Center.
In 1997 after moving from Salem, Oregon to Lacey, Washington, both Cherrie and her husband donated many, many hours of their time doing volunteer work at Panorama. Beyond this work, she also kept an exceptionally clean and tidy house.
Ten years ago she said, "I don't need any big surprises for my birthday. , .just turning 100 is surprise enough!" On Thursday, May 6, 2021, at age 110 1/2, having survived both the 1918 and 2019 pandemics, Cherrie died peacefully in her room at Panorama, with nephew Carl Marcus and Linda Zeis at her side.
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