Marguerite Deane Charlet Gissel was born in Lafayette, Louisiana on April 7, 1925, and passed away at River Landing at Sandy Ridge in Colfax, North Carolina on January 6, 2021. She was preceded in death by her husband, Julian Roberts Gissel, Sr., of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and her parents Philip and Katherine Charlet, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
She is survived by her four children, Julian R. Gissel, Jr. and his wife, Betty, of Knoxville, Tennessee, by Deane Gray and her husband, John, of Greeneville, Tennessee, by Dr. Philip Gissel and his wife Nancy of Eugene, Oregon, and by Katherine Robinson and her husband, John, of Kernersville, North Carolina. She also leaves nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Marguerite grew up in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University, graduating in 1945 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. At LSU, she was a charter member of Psi Chi Honorary Psychology Society and Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG), social fraternity.
Marguerite and Julian were married in July 1945 in Labadieville, Louisiana, shortly after Julian returned from Europe in World War II. They moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee in December 1947, where Julian was employed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory until his retirement in 1985.
In Oak Ridge, Marguerite was an early member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Oak Ridge Woman’s Club (ORWC), YWCA, Oak Ridge Civic Music Association (ORCMA), and represented KKG as a charter alumni PanHellenic member. She was a volunteer for Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, elementary and high school PTA, Recording for the Blind, YMCA, and Oak Ridge Hospital. From 1968 until 1985, she was a Daycare Licensing Counselor in 14 East Tennessee counties with the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
Marguerite and Julian always enjoyed their family, along with many friends in duplicate bridge, square dancing, ballroom dancing, as well as travel in many countries around the world. A favorite family activity was boating on nearby TVA lakes.
In December 2009, she moved to North Carolina. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in High Point. Marguerite’s ashes will be interred with Julian in a private ceremony at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
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