Marcia Johnson Pertel, died at home with her family in Bowdoinham, at the age of 85, on December 10th. Marcia was the descendant of Scottish/Irish immigrants who sailed to America in 1834, making their home in Little Falls, New York, where they helped build the Erie Canal.  Her ancestors represented New York in the Civil War; Thomas Johnston, the family patriarch and expert marksman, was chosen to become one of Berdan’s Sharpshooters, the Army’s first snipers.

Marcia was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee in 1933, where her father worked at a textile plant and designed parachutes and winter gear for the military in World War II.  After the war they moved to Philadelphia, she graduated from Notre Dame High School and worked for the Chamber of Commerce.

By the mid 1950’s, the family lived in Pensacola, Florida near the Naval Air Station (home to the Blue Angels), where she met and married a young Naval Aviator, Joseph Pertel. The next ten years brought four children and postings in California, Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia.  In the early 1970’s, Marcia’s young family traveled northward to Maine’s Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Twenty years of military service came to a close in 1973 when Marcia’s husband retired and they decided to live in Bowdoinham.  Marcia had another son in 1975, enjoyed gardening, raising five children, attending endless school plays/concerts/recitals and sporting events.  She shared her love for literature and political activism with them.  Marcia was an active member of the Bowdoinham and Sagadahoc County Democrats and also the Bowdoinham Loose Ladies Book Club, and frequent volunteer on town quilt projects.

Younger sister, Mary Caroline Perry, lives near San Diego. Susan Pertel Jain (husband, Sanjeev Jain) and Joseph Pertel (wife, Tina Tan) in Santa Monica, CA. Thomas Pertel (partner Joanne Roboz), San Francisco. Her West Coast grandchildren include Mayura Jain, Cheyton Jain, Anya Pertel, Minya Pertel and Asher Roboz Pertel.

Marcia lived the last few years with her daughter Lara Pertel Ashouwak and her husband, Ted. John Pertel and his wife, Doreen Fournier, live in Brunswick. Her East Coast grandkids include Josef and Sam Ashouwak and Anna, Allie and Noah Pertel. Her beloved dog, Blossom, was adopted by our friend and my mother’s care-giver, Amy Hartwell-Wyman.

Internment and a celebration of her life will take place in Bowdoinham, in the Spring.