Food, Wine & Friends-Page 119
Hosted by
Nieces Nancy Lemke & Susan Repp
at
Marjorie's Fabulous Residence
February 18, 2007
Marjorie was a great friend to many in the area.
She touched many lives in her work at Mills Hospital and then as a 'retired'
person who was always "on the go."
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Marjorie Noble Martin -- anesthesiologist
Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer
(Sunday, November 26, 2006) There was a time when it was rare to find a woman doctor, let alone a female anesthesiologist.
Dr. Marjorie Noble Martin, who built an anesthesiology department at Mills Hospital in San Mateo, never saw herself as a pioneer, even when others questioned why a young woman would want to go to medical school during the Great Depression.
"I just didn't see any reason why I shouldn't," she told an interviewer for an oral-history project at Oregon Health & Science University, her alma mater.
Dr. Martin died Tuesday at her San Mateo home. She was 91.
She was a no-nonsense physician who could be blunt and demanding of her staff at Mills Hospital, but she was proud of the reputation for excellence she fostered there. When she joined Mills in 1948, only UCSF and Stanford in the Bay Area had anesthesiology departments run by specialists.
Born in Boise, Idaho, in 1915, she grew up in Portland, Ore., where her father managed a wholesale grocery. Dr. Martin, a strong student in math and science, graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle and was trained as a physician at the University of Oregon Medical School, now called Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland.
She was one of four female graduates in 1940. After an internship at Childrens Hospital of San Francisco, she returned to Oregon to become an anesthesiologist. In 1942, she married William Martin, a medical student three years behind her. Throughout her professional life, she was called Dr. Marjorie Noble -- a name she wanted to keep in honor of her parents, who put her through medical school.
In Oregon, she ran her own private anesthesiology practice, driving from hospital to hospital in a car that carried her anesthesia machine and tanks of anesthetic gases.
She recalled charging between $10 and $35 per surgery. "If anybody didn't pay, I didn't send them a second bill,'' she told Linda Weimer, OHSU's oral historian. "I figured they couldn't afford it. Nobody had any insurance, so that's just the way it was.''
When her husband was offered a residency at the University of California Hospital in San Francisco, she took a position teaching anesthesia there, and eventually was hired to head the department at Mills.
"She was an exemplary lady,'' said her friend Cliff Schindler. "She treated me like a son."
Dr. Martin is survived by her sister, Betty Repp, of Tacoma, Wash. Her husband preceded her in death.
No service is planned. Donations in her memory may be made to the Sutter VNA & Hospice Foundation, 1900 Powell St., Suite 300, Emeryville, CA 94608.
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Marjorie enjoyed travel and she went around the world...she was in Africa to
view Halley's Comet, ventured to Christmas Island with Paul and Sandy Obester
and was on a Russian icebreaker in search of the best vodka at the North Pole.
Okay, maybe she wasn't looking for vodka, but she was on that Russian Icebreaker
a few years ago.
Her nieces Susan and Nancy assembled a nice array of "Marjorie
Memorabilia" for friends and family to view one last time.
Here's a photo of her at the Panama Canal!
An old fishing photo and there's Marjorie, ever in style!
Marjorie chartered a railcar to travel (in style, of course) from the Bay Area
up to the Pacific Northwest for a college class reunion.
"This will be the final reunion," she told us.
"Why is that?" we asked.
"Dear boy," she responded, "these people are getting up in
years. How much longer do you think they'll be around?"
Marjorie enjoyed participating (eating and drinking) in our little gourmet
get-togethers.
She saved the menus from various events, too.
These were stylish back in Marjorie's day.
Marjorie was fond of animals and I think her favorites were
Shemya, a Doberman and Jamie, a parrot (who did great renditions of Marjorie
answering the phone or telling the dogs to go outside).
Felicity, Marjorie's favorite pooch.
Here she was with the husband, Dr. Bill and her sister Betty and Betty's
husband.
Here's Marjorie, proud of the house her husband help design
with the aid of the dear friend, architect George Rossi.
Meanwhile, preparations had been underway for days, headed by
Billy and Hilary of Saint Clair's Catering in Burlingame.
Billy shares some character traits with Marjorie...he, too, is a perfectionist
and has an eye for style and a palate for good taste.
Marjorie was a big fan of pt and she used to make her
own...
We had a nice array of wines, of course, especially Charles Heidsieck's Brut
Reserve Champagne.
Henry Moore shows off a recent fungus find.
He's always finding mushrooms to die for!
Henry, Jonathan and Alexia.
Decaf salads.
"Yep, she's in heaven!" announced Paul Obester, who found, apparently,
the 'stamp' in her passport.
"Oυρανός, Himmel, Pай, Paradiso,
Hemel, Eden, whatever language you like...it's in here!" he said.
Mrs. Rossi especially enjoyed tasting an older bottle of Louis M. Martini's
Monte Rosso Zinfandel. She and her husband used to venture to the Napa
Valley with the Martins back in the 1950s and 1960s in search of good wine.
In those days, though, there was but a handful of wineries.
Bill Rossi is checking the paint job in the house, as well as the color and
flavor of a nice little French Burgundy.
Becky, on the right, took good care of Marjorie for many years...she's adopted
Miranda (see way below).
Paul Obester tells about the time he took Marjorie para-sailing
and hang-gliding.
Cliff took care of Marjorie when she needed a driver. This was a great
relationship which blossomed beautifully.
"I am so lucky to have been a part of Marjorie's life." Cliff
explains.
The two went everywhere in the Bay Area, exploring the sights, sounds and
flavors of Northern California.
Rose helped look after Marjorie during Dr. Martin's final days...
Paul Obester checks out an old bottle of Zinfandel.
"Gee, I was young when they made this!" said Paul.
Bob Gorman.
Bob Lemke.
Becky's daughter, Princess Diana.
The angelic Rose compares tasting notes with Jonathan.
Jamie.
Miranda.
Marjorie also provided a home for cats...
Marjorie was with us in spirit and she was enjoying a sip of Champagne!
Thanks one and all
and
Thanks, Marjorie, for everything!
We miss you!!!
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