Margery Tonks died on Friday, Sept.13, with her family close by. Marge was active with UU Fellowship of St. Croix and Interfaith Coalition.
Born in 1917 in Providence, Rhode Island, she attended Smith College (last spring she attended her 75th college reunion), married Bob Tonks, and raised three children: Marilyn, Phil and Andrew, while teaching at Beaver Country Day School in Massachusetts.
In retirement, she and Bob spent 17 years sailing the Caribbean, Galapagos and the Mediterranean. They then settled into their home in Morningstar in the mid 80s. Marge became very active with Camp Arawak, Interfaith Coalition and with its Caregivers program. In her later years, she “ran” in the Women’s Coalition fundraiser, winning her age category every time. (She was the only person in her age bracket so that the organization had to add older groupings each year for her). Marge was awarded National Volunteer of the Year in 2011 by Faith in Action National Network. She was a member of The Writer’s Circle of St. Croix and contributed to their publications.
Margery is also survived by her grandchildren: Kirsten Nordstrom, Brian Tonks, Marilyn Tonks, Patrick Tonks, Niko Tonks, Charlie Tonks and Thalassa Tonks as well as eight great-grandsons and one great granddaughter. Margery always had a positive attitude, believed a person can make a difference helping others, and loved to sing.
A celebration of her life will be held at the Jewish Community Center on at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept 17.
Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to the Interfaith Coalition.