Marie Spangler

 

On September 2, 2023, Marie Spangler passed away peacefully at age 90 after a brief illness.

Marie was born, raised and had many wonderful memories of growing up with her family in Floyd Virginia.  She was born to her parents, Mary Catherine and Charles Spangler.  She was the youngest of three siblings, her brothers being Charles Jr. and Jack (Murray Jackson).

After graduating High School in 1951, at the age of 18, she moved to Washington DC to work for the FBI.  Five years later she moved to the Naval Research Laboratory where she worked thirty six additional years before retiring in 1992.

In 1963, Marie gave birth to her only son Ralph.  She raised him in a home filled with love and he is grateful that she was able to spend the last several years living with him and his wife, Julie in their home. Marie was a life-long crafter who enjoyed all forms of sewing, crochet, quilting and needlepoint.  After retiring she became a doll maker, producing dozens, perhaps hundreds, of hand-made porcelain dolls.  She was very proud of the fact that her dolls (or babies as she called them) began as mud and that she had a hand in almost every aspect of bringing them to 'life' - from pouring to firing, painting and finally creating custom outfits for each of them.  In her later years she also became a prolific quilter and was working on one the week before she passed.

Marie is predeceased by her parents, Charles and Mary Cathrine (Yopp) Spangler; her brothers, Charles Jr., and Jack and his wife, Bessie.

Marie is survived by her son, Ralph Roland, his wife Julie Petrbok; and her sister-in-law Barbara Spangler.  She was also extremely close with all of her nieces and nephews, Sara Dulaney, Gary and Julianne Spangler, Janet Branch, Karen Black and David and Lydean Spangler.  There was a special place in her heart for all of their children and grand- children as well.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 8, 2023 in the Maberry Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Bob McLavey officiating. Interment will follow in the Jacksonville Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 7, 2023 at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Floyd County Humane Society, P.O. Box 862, Floyd, VA 24091.