Marian Carr Thompson's Obituary
Marian Carr Thompson passed away peacefully at the age of 96. Born in
Berkeley, she was the beloved daughter of Frank and Blanche Carr. Marian graduated
from UC Berkeley, where she joined the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. While there, she
met and married the love of her life, Kenneth L Thompson, who was also a student at
Cal. They settled eventually in Oakland to raise their 4 children.
Marian and Ken were active in the community life of Oakland, participating in the
Rotary and Rotary Ann clubs, the Children’s Hospital Guild, the Oakland Museum,
Skyline Garden club, Piedmont Seniors and the East Bay Community Foundation.
Together they travelled the world as Rotarian ambassadors and independently with
Road Scholar. They also were life long campers at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp.
Marian was a loyal A’s and Cal fan her whole life. She loved to play ping pong and golf
with her grandchildren.
Marian and Ken were married 55 years before Ken died in 1998. She lived at the
family home in Montclair until she moved in 2009 to Cardinal Point in Alameda. She lost
her sight to macular degeneration but that didn’t stop her from attending the plays she
loved at the Altarena Playhouse and from enjoying the many family outings she
participated in over the years.
She leaves behind her 4 children and their spouses: Kendra Downey (Joe),
Peter Thompson, Kathy Thompson (Scott Hermansen) and Paul Thompson (Patrick
Doonan). Her grandchildren: Florie Elmore (Leaf Wild), Sam Downey (Norie), Molly
Sherman and Matt Hermansen. Her great grandchildren: Dylan Elmore, Kaito Downey
and Juniper Wild.
A celebration of Marian’s life will be held at Piedmont Community Church on
August 2nd at 2:00PM. With respect and in lieu of flowers, the family requests that
donations be made in Marian’s memory to the East Bay Community Foundation: http://
www.ebcf.org.
What’s your fondest memory of Marian?
What’s a lesson you learned from Marian?
Share a story where Marian's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Marian you’ll never forget.
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