Marion Sanders

Note: Marion Sanders died in May, but her Randolph friends have asked that a Herald obituary celebrate her life—Ed.

NEW YORK CITY—Marion Sanders, 81, was born Julia Marianne Adelheid Hollande in Berlin, Germany, on Valentine's Day, 1926. Her parents, Erich and Pepi Hollander were musicians—cello and violin, respectively. Her father directed the Stern Conservatory of Music in Berlin.

For many years she was an editorial researcher at TIME magazine, but her most treasured roles were of wife and mother. She worked cheerfully and indefatigably to create two beautiful homes, framing much of the art-work herself, upholstering the furniture, and in Vermont, furnishing the house almost exclusively from the Barter Barn—a second-hand store.

She refinished or painted the furniture, and many objects were obtained at the Gifford Thrift Shop. She loved the Thrift Shop and would return almost daily with a bag or basket of items saying, "Look at this—only 25 cents!"

She planted flowers all around the house and in a patch she created on the lawn. She found someone who had red-currant bushes and planted one next to the southern end of the garage, where it provides endless currants each year.

It was her idea that her son, Peter, should bring a chamber-music festival to Chandler Music Hall in Randolph some 16 years ago.

She wore red lipstick and red glasses. Red was her color. She was lively and spirited, and she had flair.

She was particularly interested in nature, learning the names of birds, cultivated and wild flowers, and butterflies in the area. She loved watching the hummingbirds at the feeder outside the dining-room window in Vermont.

Early on she became interested in the Hospice movement. She told her family very clearly what she wanted when she came to the end of her life, and what she didn’t want—no extraordinary measures. In planning for her death she was as self-determined as she was in living her life. She wanted to be at home to die, and it was there that she died May 14, 2007.

Written by Peter Sanders

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