Gretchen Weaver Marcus died on May 19, 2023 at Broadmead, a retirement community in Cockeysville, Md., at age 84 of Alzheimer's Disease. In a career in education that spanned more than 50 years, she worked with students ranging in age from toddlers to college students.

Gretchen was born in DuBois, Pa. on June 4, 1938 to Mac and Sally Weaver and moved to Baltimore in 1956 to attend Goucher College, from which she graduated in 1960 with a degree in sociology. She earned a master's degree in education in reading from Towson University in 1981.

After graduating from Goucher, Mrs. Marcus was a social worker at Cylburn Children's Home. She married Dr. Robert Marcus in 1966 and paused her career while the couple's children, David and Lauren, were young. From 1976 to 1988 Mrs. Marcus taught at Towson Presbyterian Preschool and First English Lutheran Presbyterian Preschool. She was a reading specialist at Owings Mills High School from 1988 to 1994, then returned to her college alma mater to direct the Academic Center for Excellence until 2009. She worked part-time at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County before retiring in 2012.

Mrs. Marcus was an involved parent at Boys' Latin School, which her son attended, and Bryn Mawr School, where her daughter went, as well as an active member of the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore. She enjoyed reading, knitting and needlepoint and liked to prepare a wide repertoire of dishes, from Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon to the melting blueberry cake featured in Cooking With The Groundhog, a 1958 collection of recipes published in Punxsutawney, Pa., the town near DuBois famous for its weather-predicting rodents.

Mrs. Marcus's marriage ended in divorce. Both of her children survive her, as do Lauren's husband Jeff Ladenson and their children Jonas, Elsa and Zella Ladenson, upon whom Mrs. Marcus lavished time, attention and love.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Broadmead's Advancement Office, 13801 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21030, or to the Alzheimer's Association of America at www.alzfdn.org .

A Memorial Service will be held at The Cathedral of the Incarnation, 4 E. University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21218, on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 11AM.