Cherrie Marcus

BIOGRAPHY

Marcus was born as Cherrie Sarah Riley in Somers, New York, on 17 November 1910 as the only child of Freeman and Rose (Pirano) Riley. After graduating from business school, she worked in a secretarial capacity at Curtis Wright Aeronautical; it was there where she met her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Woodrow Marcus, and the two were later married. They had no children.

Marcus was a lifelong lover of cats and kittens, owning a pair of Siamese cats with her husband, as well as over 50 stuffed toy cats adorning her room in her later years.

In 1997, Marcus relocated to Lacey, Washington, having lived in Salem, Oregon for numerous years. She and her husband volunteered many hours at the nursing home which Marcus would later become a resident of in 2009. She was known for being exceptionally clean and tidy. Marcus was widowed in 2008 after 67 years of marriage.

Marcus died on 6 May 2021 at the age of 110 years, 170 days with her nephew, Carl Marcus, and her niece, Linda Zeis, at her bedside. She lived in the same nursing home as Russell Day, founder of the Everett Community College (EvCC) art program, who died in 2019 aged 106.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her death, Marcus was the state of Washington’s second-oldest resident after 113-year-old Ruth Apilado.

Marcus’ age was verified by Stefan Maglov and validated by LongeviQuest on 7 April 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY

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