1926
Marianne
2013
Marianne O'Dwyer
February 28, 1926 — January 18, 2013
Marianne O’Dwyer, 86, of Burlington, Kentucky, formerly of Flemington, New Jersey and Shanghai, China, passed away Friday January 18, 2013 at St. Elizabeth Hospice in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.
Marianne’s family was part of the Russian aristocracy. They escaped Russia during the Communist-Bolshevik revolution in late 1917 and finally settled in Shanghai, China, where Marianne was born. Marianne was raised in the British boarding school system of Shanghai and was accepted to study at Oxford University, Oxford, England. However, World War ll and the Japanese invasion of China, changed all that. In 1937, the city of Shanghai fell to Japanese aggression. Shanghai was overthrown and occupied by the Japanese army, who, set up a series of concentration camps also known as “Civil Assembly Centres.” As a young girl, Marianne, and her family were interned in one of these POW camps, known as “Ash Camp.” One of her few fond memories, was being crowned Ash Camp’s “Queen of the May.” At the age of 19, after three years of internment, she was liberated from Ash Camp. After the Japanese surrender and the end of World War ll, Marianne, a British National, worked in the British Embassy in Shanghai as Assistant Archivist. In May 1947, Marianne was taking a China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong to visit her sister. The Captain of the flight was Joseph O’Dwyer, a World War ll Army Air Corps Veteran (HUMP pilot) who elected to remain in China after the end
of the War. Thinking Marianne was a Pan Am Flight Attendant, Captain O’Dwyer asked her to help serve the box lunches on the flight. She agreed. That was the beginning of their courtship. They married a year and a half later in Hong Kong, where they lived until the Chinese Cultural (Communist) Revolution made it impossible for them to stay in China. In 1950, they moved to Huntington, WV, Joseph’s home town. Shortly afterward, Marianne was Naturalized as an American Citizen. Joseph’s career as a pilot moved them several times, from Huntington, WV to Los Angeles, CA to Long Island, NY and finally settling in the Flemington, NJ area, where they lived for 50 years. They purchased a dairy farm in nearby Ringoes. Initially, Marianne managed the farm while Joseph was flying. After several years, they shut down the dairy. Marianne “retired” and returned to care for their four daughters, full time. As the girls grew up, Marianne enjoyed many hobbies, from oil painting and watercolors to playing bridge and jewelry-making to gardening and furniture refinishing. She also became active in local politics and sat on the Hunterdon County Board of Adjustment. In 2006, Marianne and Joseph moved to Burlington, KY. Marianne was a devoted and loving wife for nearly 63 years until Joseph’s death in 2011. She was a loving mother to their four daughters, Moira, Laura, Susanna and Sarah.
Survivors include daughters, Moira Anne (Harold) Edwards of Canaan, New Hampshire, Laura Jo (Gerald) Garceau of Guilford, Connecticut, Susanna Lee (David) Krebs of Coconut Creek, Florida, and Sarah O’Dwyer (Scott) Mulready of Burlington, Kentucky; grandchildren, Joshua J. (Robyn) Edwards, Victoria A. (Jeremy) Edwards-White, Warren R. (Casandra) Garceau, and Jared M. Garceau; and great grandson, Jack Vincent Edwards.
Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer's Association, 644 Linn Street, Cincinnati OH 45203 or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center P.O. Box 27106 New York, NY 10087-7106
Marianne’s family was part of the Russian aristocracy. They escaped Russia during the Communist-Bolshevik revolution in late 1917 and finally settled in Shanghai, China, where Marianne was born. Marianne was raised in the British boarding school system of Shanghai and was accepted to study at Oxford University, Oxford, England. However, World War ll and the Japanese invasion of China, changed all that. In 1937, the city of Shanghai fell to Japanese aggression. Shanghai was overthrown and occupied by the Japanese army, who, set up a series of concentration camps also known as “Civil Assembly Centres.” As a young girl, Marianne, and her family were interned in one of these POW camps, known as “Ash Camp.” One of her few fond memories, was being crowned Ash Camp’s “Queen of the May.” At the age of 19, after three years of internment, she was liberated from Ash Camp. After the Japanese surrender and the end of World War ll, Marianne, a British National, worked in the British Embassy in Shanghai as Assistant Archivist. In May 1947, Marianne was taking a China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong to visit her sister. The Captain of the flight was Joseph O’Dwyer, a World War ll Army Air Corps Veteran (HUMP pilot) who elected to remain in China after the end
of the War. Thinking Marianne was a Pan Am Flight Attendant, Captain O’Dwyer asked her to help serve the box lunches on the flight. She agreed. That was the beginning of their courtship. They married a year and a half later in Hong Kong, where they lived until the Chinese Cultural (Communist) Revolution made it impossible for them to stay in China. In 1950, they moved to Huntington, WV, Joseph’s home town. Shortly afterward, Marianne was Naturalized as an American Citizen. Joseph’s career as a pilot moved them several times, from Huntington, WV to Los Angeles, CA to Long Island, NY and finally settling in the Flemington, NJ area, where they lived for 50 years. They purchased a dairy farm in nearby Ringoes. Initially, Marianne managed the farm while Joseph was flying. After several years, they shut down the dairy. Marianne “retired” and returned to care for their four daughters, full time. As the girls grew up, Marianne enjoyed many hobbies, from oil painting and watercolors to playing bridge and jewelry-making to gardening and furniture refinishing. She also became active in local politics and sat on the Hunterdon County Board of Adjustment. In 2006, Marianne and Joseph moved to Burlington, KY. Marianne was a devoted and loving wife for nearly 63 years until Joseph’s death in 2011. She was a loving mother to their four daughters, Moira, Laura, Susanna and Sarah.
Survivors include daughters, Moira Anne (Harold) Edwards of Canaan, New Hampshire, Laura Jo (Gerald) Garceau of Guilford, Connecticut, Susanna Lee (David) Krebs of Coconut Creek, Florida, and Sarah O’Dwyer (Scott) Mulready of Burlington, Kentucky; grandchildren, Joshua J. (Robyn) Edwards, Victoria A. (Jeremy) Edwards-White, Warren R. (Casandra) Garceau, and Jared M. Garceau; and great grandson, Jack Vincent Edwards.
Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer's Association, 644 Linn Street, Cincinnati OH 45203 or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center P.O. Box 27106 New York, NY 10087-7106
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