Midge Grace (AKA Marjorie) died peacefully in her home late in the evening of Dec. 1, her daughter Deirdre by her side. She was 97.
Midge moved to Vashon Island in 2006 to join Deirdre and her husband Mark and daughter Karen on their small hobby farm in a cottage all her own. She left a life she loved in New Mexico for this new adventure and quickly set about making new friends.
While the climate and island facilities did not support her previous tennis playing, Midge rediscovered her love of competitive bridge and became a staple not only in the island’s games but in those in West Seattle as well. She played regularly, with her dear friend and bridge partner Mel Mackey, until shortly after she was referred into hospice in late 2019. In fact, she and Mel became Life Masters in the American Contract Bridge League system.
Midge lived a long and adventurous life. She was a painter and a lover of life and the mysteries of it. She was described as one of a kind by most who met her. Born in Bridgeport, West Virginia to an accountant father and homemaker mother, she joined the Marine Corps at 17 during WWII and married at 18. Her WWII service entailed driving supply trucks stateside. She was honorably discharged and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, on the GI bill. She was the oldest living Marine on Vashon.
She traveled extensively, living in New Mexico four times; voting for statehood in Alaska; California; Oregon; Toronto and Vancouver, Canada; South Africa; Namibia; and Florida. Her final settling in New Mexico before coming to Vashon saw her mastering the roles of Office Manager for a hydrologist, Court Monitor, and fine art teacher at New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology – the institution that had brought her to New Mexico originally in the 1950s.
Midge loved just about every minute of her 14 years on Vashon. She is survived by her youngest brother Tom McFadden in Alabama and her daughter Deirdre, son-in-law Mark Wells, and granddaughter Karen Grace-Wells. She was deeply loved and will be missed. We cherish the time we had with her and are grateful for the mark she left on this world. Donations to the Vashon Senior Center in her name would be greatly appreciated. A celebration of her life will be scheduled sometime in the future
