It was 79 years ago today that Marcia Crocker Noyes took her last quiet breath at the Eudowood Sanitarium (below) in Towson, Maryland. She died just a few days after the 50th anniversary of her hiring at the Medical Faculty.
Marcia had just returned from the Medical Library Association's Annual Meeting in New Haven, CT. The experience exhausted her, and at the party, she had lost much of her voice.
Years before, she had convinced the Library Committee to purchase a painting at auction, and had always said that if/when she retired, she was going to sneak the painting into her valise.
But that was not necessary, as the Faculty gave her the painting as a gift. When she died, she gave it back to the Faculty for their art collection, and it now holds pride of place above the fireplace in the Krause Room.
Before Marcia died, she commented that she had not accomplished everything that she'd wanted to do during her 50 year tenure at the Faculty. She promised to rest for a few days, and then come back and "haint" the staff in order to get them to do what she wanted.
And she has come back to "haint" all of us. If you want to learn the full story of Marcia's life, please click here to purchase and read a digital copy of her biography, written earlier this year.
Of all of the images I've seen of Marcia, this one is my favorite. 
I don't know the year of the photograph, but I love her steady gaze at the camera.
Hello Meg, More and more I spot things to admire about Marcia. She was a dedicated worker, but also had a full share of personality. I agree with you that is a great portrait--there used to be a blogger named Isabella who could have dated that photo almost to the day by the fashions Marcia is sporting--and then backed up her assertions with photos from magazines, pattern books, and other historical sources.
ReplyDelete--Jim