Obituary of Marjorie Jane Windus

Marjorie Windus was born in Seattle on March 29, 1920, the daughter of Louise and Harold Windus. He was the premiere organ accompanist during Seattle’s silent motion picture era. It was this musical background that led Marge to become a singer and after graduating from the University of Washington, she headed for the big time: the Blue Note in Chicago. There her singing talents were held in less regard than her ability to charm customers and stars ranging from Oscar Peterson to Lenny Bruce. So for almost a decade she became the club’s hostess/cashier. Perhaps to make more of a contribution to society, she returned to Washington, got her MSW from the University of Washington, and became a social worker for the Department of Social and Health Services in Pierce County, where she became the supervisor of the first Community Worker Unit in the State. She developed the first community-wide resource directory in Pierce County. She was a community organizer before that profession was recognized. As a community activist, she played a role in helping the Puyallup Tribe get possession of the building which became their community center, the former Cascadia Juvenile Diagnostic Center. She had a strong sense of social justice and lived her life supporting progressive causes. She retired from DSHS in 1983, and then lived in the San Francisco Bay area until early 2009, when she returned to Tacoma. Until the end of her life she relived her old passions as a yearly fixture at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Marge Died December 29 in Tacoma after a brief illness. There will be a celebration of Marge's life at 1:00 on Saturday January 5th at the home of Tim & Pam Bush.