At the age of 94, Marian Koonce could well be celebrated entirely for the remarkable achievement of providing the world with seven successful children, 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren, but there was much more she was compelled to do for her community and for her country over her long and productive life.
Marian began life as the middle of three children of Methodist missionaries in Africa. The family returned to America with her father suffering from malaria. It was the height of the Depression, and they experienced extreme poverty, living in a lean-to on the Hudson River in New Jersey. Despite these conditions, she started on the road of her incredible journey, fighting to stay in school and graduating as valedictorian from Newton High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
After the family scraped enough money together to move back to their home state of Texas, Marian did whatever it was that was necessary to get herself in to the University of Texas. It’s a certainty that she didn’t “buy her way inâ€! She never graduated but soaked up every bit of education and information she could find to continue to build her foundation of hard work, knowledge of many subjects, and brilliant use of the English language.
