MARION GRACE COTINS STUART Marion Grace Cotins Stuart passed away peacefully at her home in Indian River Shores, Florida, on April 29, 2012 after a long illness. She was predeceased in 1998 by her husband of fifty years, John Raymond ("Ray") Stuart. She is survived by her daughters, Pamela B. Stuart, an attorney in Vero Beach and Washington, D.C., Dr. Catherine Stuart Ryan of Summit, New Jersey, and Deborah Stuart of Seattle, Washington, her son-in-law, Edward A. Ryan, her granddaughter, Christine E. Ryan, and numerous nieces and nephews. Marion Cotins was born on June 2, 1920 in Utica, New York, the second daughter of Arthur and Fredda Hyde Cotins. She earned a bachelors degree in English at Wells College in Aurora, New York. She was the valedictorian of her class at New Hartford (N.Y.) High School. She took graduate courses at Syracuse University and Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. She studied landscape architecture at the State University of New York at Farmingdale. She was predeceased by her sisters, Virginia Cotins Eisenhart (Mrs. Richard), Ruth Cotins Branch (Mrs. Eugene), and her brother, Arthur James Cotins, whose wife Carroll C. Cotins, lives in South Setauket, New York. Following her graduation from Wells College, Mrs. Stuart served in the Red Cross in support of the war effort during World War II. She also worked for her father in his advertising business, Moser & Cotins, in Utica, New York and for Dr. Lowell R. Ditzen, a Presbyterian minister who later became Director of the National Presbyterian Center in Washington, D.C. On October 4, 1947, Marion Cotins married John Raymond Stuart, a stock and commodities broker who was with E. F. Hutton & Company. Following her marriage, Mrs. Stuart devoted her efforts to being a wife and mother. After a brief residence in Queens, New York, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart moved to Garden City on Long Island where they raised their three daughters and were active in the Garden City Community Church and in the affairs of the Village of Garden City. They were part of a social group that played bridge and went to parties at each other's houses in Garden City, New York for many years. In 1987, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart found a retirement home in Vero Beach. Among their Garden City friends who also moved to Vero Beach were Arthur and Betty Adams, Barbara and Richard Stark, Ruth and Herbert Hendrickson, Dr. Edward and Marie Cartnick, Robert and Hazel Mitchell, Peggy and Wheeler Dennis, Ellery and Patricia Mann, James and Elizabeth Schenkel and their daughter, Mary Schenkel, Lewis L. (Jr.) and Hazel Smith, and Peter and Sally Smith Haeffner. Following Mr. Stuart's death in 1998, Mrs. Stuart became a full time resident of Vero Beach in 2002. Mrs. Stuart's interests were wide-ranging. She was an avid reader and collector of antiques. She and her husband traveled with friends all over the world. Mrs. Stuart designed and cultivated a much-admired garden surrounding her home in Garden City. She had a life-long interest in birds and flower-arranging. She was an ardent Democrat and an advocate for women's rights. She quit the Republican Party in 1972 when it left the Equal Rights Amendment out of the party platform. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Democratic Women's Club of Indian River County, and the Vero Beach Yacht Club. Marion Stuart was a loving and devoted mother who took great pride in her daughters. All three earned graduate degrees. Her granddaughter, Christine Ryan, a graduate of Fordham Law School, is serving as a law clerk to a federal judge. When Mr. and Mrs. Stuart joined the Community Church in Vero Beach, Mr. Stuart was surprised to learn that their new church did not have a missions program. Ray Stuart had been secretly inspired by his wife's involvement in the missions program at the Garden City Community Church. So, he started the missions program at the Community Church of Vero Beach. The missions program inspired by Marion Stuart now uses a portion of the church's budget to support nineteen charitable organizations in Indian River County and throughout the world. Following a private burial, a memorial service celebrating the life of Marion Stuart will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Community Church of Vero Beach, 1901 23rd Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. Arrangements are under the direction of Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach, FL. Online condolences may be sent at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com Paid Obituary