Esther Elizabeth Wells Marr

On February 2, 2021, Esther Elizabeth Wells Marr (Betty), 91, passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loving family. She dealt with various health issues over the past few months, but eventually took her place in Heaven.
She is reunited in heaven with her loving husband of 64 years, Leonard Vanlew Marr. She was born March 21, 1929, the daughter of John Washington Wells and Mary Esther Heath Wells. Her brother, John Thomas Wells, preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister, Dorothy Wells Shornak, her children, Jo Anne Marr Gessell (David), Peggy Marr Bloodworth (Jeff), Cynthia Marr Pawlick (Stephen) and Van Marr (Beverly), daughter-in-law Sandra Marr, her grandchildren, Noah Gessell (Sheena Sims), Fred Gessell (Amanda), Benjamin Gessell (Amanda), Joe Gessell (Alisha), Jacqueline (JJ) Faulkner (Chris), Addie Pawlick, Kim Pawlick, Adam Marr (Heather), Alan Marr, Jason Marr (Lindsay), and Sarah Marr (Adam Rice) and 14 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She was a gem of a mother. Kind, teaching, sharing, generous, and a fighter to the end, who was outspoken to a fault (or not). She loved being around her family and had a culinary gift for producing feasts from the bounty of her husband’s fishing, hunting and gardening. She was a fabulous cook (butter beans were coveted at all family reunions). She loved “putting foods up”, canning and freezing the harvest. She personally loved her juicy ripe homegrown tomatoes, the aforementioned butterbeans, collards, crab cakes, ice cream and cherry pie. She was always fair, making sure all family members were treated equally and making everyone feel special and always sent everyone home with their favorite food. She played the lottery on a regular basis, hopeful to win, not for her, but for her children and grandchildren. Little did she know that we had already hit the jackpot when God gave us her as a Mother. She was a Girl Scout Mom, a band Mom, a gymnastics Mom and a baseball Mom. She was a lifelong member of Woodlawn Presbyterian Church, the first female Elder and a Presbytery Commissioner to the Presbyterian General Assembly. She was an active member of the church and exemplified and acted upon the attributes of a being a Christian, loved God, loved people, and lived her life to serve others in many ways, include feeding the homeless from her garden and performing a variety of other volunteer work. She loved sewing, tatting and crochet, making baby blankets for gifts, but adored quilting, a legacy which we will see every day, not only using her quilts, but as every quilter knows, she was a fabric hoarder. Her unwavering love for family will stay with us always. Oh, and please be on time (this was her number one pet peeve).
She worked many years for C&P telephone, later to become Bell Atlantic and was an advocate for women’s rights, successfully fighting to get better paying jobs typically labeled for men. She was the first Central Office Repairman.
A service will be held at Woodlawn Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, VA on Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 11:00 AM. Masks are required, and social distancing will be practiced. It will also be live streamed on the Church’s Facebook page (Woodlawn Presbyterian Church of Hopewell) and Zoomed (the Zoom link will be available on the church Facebook page). In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Woodlawn Presbyterian Church, Waterloo Hunt Club in New Kent, or a charity of your choice on her behalf. The family welcomes friends and family to their home after the service at 316 Woodbine Street, Hopewell, VA.