BIDDEFORD POOL – Penelope “Penny” Stewart (Spurr) Marshall, 94, died peacefully at home in Biddeford Pool on Oct. 6, 2022. She was born in Wheeling, W.Va., the first of three children of Arthur Clinton Spurr and his wife Margaret Brown Spurr.

Penny graduated from the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and subsequently from Smith College in 1949 with an English degree. She spent the next two years in Fairmont, W.Va. with her parents, volunteering with the Junior League. In 1951, Penny applied to Harvard Business School but was turned down as they did not yet accept women. She then applied to Harvard Law School, and was accepted. She decided, however, to defer her admission and instead joined three Smith friends in renting a New York City apartment. This is where she met Julian Howard “Howdy” Marshall, Jr., to whom she was married April 11, 1953 in Fairmont, W.Va. After the birth of their first child, they moved to Irvington, N.Y., where they lived for the next 40 years. The couple had four more children, and were active in their community and church.

Penny served as both Junior and Senior Warden at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, continued with the Junior League, and joined the Thursday Club as well as the Irvington Garden Club. She proudly held the position of President of the Alumnae Association at the Masters School from 1975-78, was a Trustee from 1981-87, and served as Class Secretary and Chairman of the school’s Annual Fund at various times. She was also an active volunteer for Smith College. Passionate about gardening, she eventually served as Secretary, Vice-President and President of the Irvington Garden Club, and co-chaired the Irvington Garden Club’s Rose Garden.

Howdy Marshall retired (Senior Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) in 1990, and in 1996 they moved to their newly rebuilt summer home in Biddeford Pool. Howdy died in early 1997, but Penny lived another 25 years in the home she designed, decorated and loved. In Biddeford Pool, she served on the boards of the Land Trust, the Community Club, and St. Martin’s in the Field Episcopal Church. Penny joined the Piscataqua Garden Club in York, in 1996, and from 1999-2003 edited their publication The Piscataqua Papers. From 2001-2005 Penny edited Conservation Watch, a publication of the Conservation Committee of The Garden Club of America. She served on the National Conservation Committee of the Garden Club of America, and was active at the national level of the GCA.

A life-long learner, Penny loved to travel and learn about the world around her, and did so with family and/or friends. Her travels included Western Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Peru, the Amazon, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and countless Civil War battlefields and other historic sites.

An outstanding writer who loved her craft, Penny shared her wit, insight, and charm – not to mention her unparalleled memory – in a blog appropriately titled “Nearly Ninety”. Her first post, “Getting to Know Me,” came out May 21, 2017. Over the next five years, she wrote dozens of pieces and received hundreds of positive comments from her loyal and eager followers. Her final post was published shortly after her death.

More than writing or gardening, Penny loved her family, traveling to visit each of her children regularly.

She is survived by four children, Tad, Clint, Julia and Margaret; seven grandchildren, Chris, MaryAnn, Hali, Jack, Jay, Taylor & Blake; and a younger sister, Isabelle Appleton of Portland.

Penny was predeceased by her youngest son, Alex (January, 2022); her husband, Howdy; and younger brother, Benjamin Moore Spurr (1993).

Although we mourn the loss of our mother, we treasure our memories of her and celebrate a life well-lived.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 3:30 p.m., St. Martin’s in the Field, in Biddeford Pool.

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