Marian Johnson Stuntz's Obituary
Marian Johnson Stuntz, known as Sandy to her friends, died August 30 at the age of 83 in her longtime home in Annapolis, succumbing to an incurable blood disorder. She spent her childhood in Swedish neighborhoods around Depression-era Austin, Texas, before moving with her parents, Carl and Ruth Johnson, to Washington when she was 14. Just after WWII, Sandy met her husband, John, at the University of Maryland during work on a dramatic production of “Volpone,” and left after her junior year to marry him, devastating a bevy of suitors. She had five children, then helped transplant the family from Hyattsville to Hillsmere Shores in 1961. Between taxiing kids, critiquing and typing school papers, and doctoring, feeding and refereeing, she found time for square-dancing, bridge club and quilting. A passionate advocate of education, Sandy was active in the schools her children attended and taught remedial reading as a volunteer. The PTA recognized her many years of involvement with a Life Membership. Sandy was also a devoted member of Eastport United Methodist Church for 50 years, teaching Sunday school and providing active support in multiple roles. She and John cruised the Chesapeake aboard family boats and eventually traveled throughout the U.S. and to three dozen countries. All in all, she came a long way for the daughter of a housepainter who immigrated through Ellis Island and a mother who was a child of Swedish immigrants.
“Beautiful inside and out,” Sandy is loved by a lifetime of friends: from Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C.; from Delta Gamma, her college sorority; from the former Westinghouse plants near Baltimore where her husband worked for three decades, and from her church. She loved her town and her Dalmatians, and adored her large family – they were her life. She lived to say goodbye to her youngest son, William Stuntz, of Boston, and hello to a new great-granddaughter in Raleigh, N.C. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, John W. Stuntz of Annapolis; 4 children, Linda Adamson of Annapolis, Michael Stuntz of Silver Spring, Richard Stuntz of Annapolis and David Stuntz of Durham, N.C.; 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Her family imagines her, with dazzling smile, wowing some celestial gathering with her world’s best crab cakes and cookies. They will miss her terribly.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 10 at Eastport United Methodist Church, 926 Bay Ridge Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the Scholarship Fund of EUMC would welcome your gift in Sandy’s memory.
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