[IMAGE]Marjorie Sloat Soden
Scarborough, ME – Marjorie S. Soden passed away on Monday at Piper
Shores in Scarborough. She was 97. Born in Portland, Marjorie lived in
several states before returning to Maine as a teenager after the death
of her father, a hotel manager. She graduated from Deering High School
in 1945, and then from Westbrook Junior College two years later.
Marjorie worked as a legal secretary before marrying and eventually
raising five children, one of whom, Mark Philbrick, predeceased her.
Her husband, Irving “Ted” Soden, died in 1989 in New Hampshire.
Marjorie never met a stranger, and credited her gregariousness with
being an only child who moved frequently. She liked nothing better
than a great party, and tore up the dance floor at the Peaks Island
dance hall, and at Bowdoin College house parties in the 1940s. Her
favorite job was as a buyer in the junior’s department at the iconic
Porteous, Mitchell & Braun department store on Congress St. “I could
buy whatever I liked,” she joked, “as long as it was navy blue.” She
later became a Real Estate Broker.
Marjorie enjoyed fashion, gardening and singing, and was a long-time
member of the Cumberland Club on High Street. She performed at the
Lyric Theater in South Portland and volunteered for many
organizations, such as the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the March of
Dimes, and Mercy Hospital.
Marjorie’s family would like to thank the nursing staff at Holbrook
Health Center and Compassus Hospice in Scarborough for their care and
compassion. A gathering will be held in Cape Elizabeth at a later
date.