Marnie Shaum
1922 – 2014
Tarkio, Missouri

Marilyn Katherine Shaum (always known as Marnie), the daughter of Paul C. Ambler and Katherine Norris Ambler, was born on March 10, 1922 in Shenandoah, Iowa. Her father, the long-time Mayor of Shenandoah, was a partner in a corn and bluegrass seed business. Her mother was a librarian at the Shenandoah Public Library. Marnie graduated from Shenandoah High School in 1939 and then went to Columbia, Missouri where she was a freshman at Columbia College. The following year she worked at the City National Bank in Shenandoah before moving to New York City where she worked at the Life Magazine News Bureau for the duration of World War II.

While living in New York, Marnie met James B. Shaum of Tarkio who was serving in the US Navy at the time. The couple married in New York in December 1944. After the war the couple moved to Philadelphia where Jim completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and Marnie worked at the McKee and Albright Advertising Agency. After graduation, Jim accepted a job as Business Manager of Tarkio College, and the couple moved to Tarkio. Over the next 7 years they became the parents of three children, Blaine, Paul and Betsy. In 1960 Marnie decided to complete her college degree and graduated from Tarkio College in 1964. She continued to pursue graduate studies in English Literature at Northwest Missouri State and the University of Nebraska.

Marnie was very active in the community. She was a member of P.E.O. Chapter FF and a past President. She was a member of the Shenandoah Study Club and the American Association of University Women where she served as a President of the local chapter. She was a member of the Atchison County Republican Women, was President in 1980 and 1981, and attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate. She was a member of the Mule Barn Theater Guild where she served as President and Editor of the Newsletter. She served on the Development Council of the Fairfax Community Hospital. She was active in the Atchison County Historical Society and was instrumental in establishing the Atchison County Historical Society Museum in Tarkio. She served on the Tarkio College Alumni Board. She was a member of the United Presbyterian Church where she served on the Session and as President of the Women’s Association. She was active in Community Betterment and received the Citizen of the Year award in 1981. Marnie passed away peacefully in her home in Tarkio on July 19, 2014 surrounded by her family. She was 92.

Besides her parents, Marnie was preceded in death by her husband, and her sister and brother-in-law Bette and Jim Barnitz. Survivors include her sister-in-law Frances Lamson of Evanston, Illinois and her family; her son Blaine and wife Melani of Beverly Hills, California and three grandchildren, Katherine, Jamie and Abby; her son Paul and wife Claudia of New York, New York and two grandchildren, Holly and PJ; and her daughter Betsy and husband Charles of Birmingham, Alabama and two grandchildren, Melissa and Jesse.

Graveside Service and Interment:
11:00 A.M., Wednesday, July 23, 2014, Home Cemetery, Tarkio.
Open visitation will begin 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, July 22, 2014, at Davis Funeral Home, Tarkio, where the family will receive friends that evening from 6:30 – 7:30 P.M.
Memorials: Tarkio College Alumni Association.
Online obituaries and condolences at www.minterfuneralchapels.com
Services: Davis Funeral Home, Tarkio.