Marion Anderson Jennings

July 20, 2019 Mrs. Marion Anderson Jennings, age 99, of Union, South Carolina, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2019, with her son and daughter-in-law at her bedside. Marion's family would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to her caregivers who provided Marion with loving care throughout many years and who enabled Marion to remain in her beloved home. Marion was born on September 30, 1919, in Cortland, New York, to Frank P. Gleason and Grace Fitzgerald Gleason. She was the valedictorian of her high school class. She went on to graduate from Syracuse University with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and she was elected to Pi Lambda Theta scholastic honor society. She continued her education with graduate studies at Cornell University, and she received her Master of Teaching degree from Converse College. Marion served on the faculty at Spartanburg Day School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and also at Cardinal Newman High School and Hammond Academy, both in Columbia, South Carolina. Later, Marion became a successful real estate sales agent in Union, South Carolina. Marion was married in 1943 to Clarence E. Anderson (Bill) of Seneca, South Carolina, with whom she had four children. He died in 1965 while pursuing a successful career at Milliken Textile Company in Union, South Carolina. Marion was remarried in 1988 to Larkin H. Jennings, Jr., an attorney in Union, South Carolina. Marion was a member of the Union Cotillion Club, the Union Junior Charity League, the Criterion Club, the Women's Study Club, the Junior Book Club, and the Monday Book Club, all of Union, South Carolina, and the Home and Garden Club of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Marion served as both a Girl Scout leader and a Cub Scout leader in Union, South Carolina. Marion was a long-standing member of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Union, South Carolina. Marion is survived by her two sons, William E. Anderson (Bill) and his wife Jo Ann, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and Thomas G. Anderson (Tom) and his wife Mary, of Inman, South Carolina. She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Jane Orahood Anderson, of Atlanta, Georgia. Marion is also survived by her granddaughter, Mary Katherine Anderson (Katie), of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and her great grandson, Finley Mark Anderson, of Gorey, Ireland. Marion was predeceased by her husband, Clarence E. Anderson (Bill), of Union, South Carolina, and her second husband, Larkin H. Jennings, Jr., of Union, South Carolina. She was also predeceased by her daughter, Elizabeth Anderson Hishon (Betsy), of Atlanta, Georgia, her son, David Mark Anderson (Mark), of Atlanta, Georgia, and her grandson, William E. Anderson, Jr., (Billy), of Gorey, Ireland. A funeral mass celebrating Marion's life will be held on Saturday, July 27, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 290 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302. The family will receive friends at a reception immediately following the service at the Piedmont Club, 361 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302. Memorial contributions may be sent to Wofford College to the Mark Anderson Scholarship Fund, 429 N. Church Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29303, or to St. Augustine Catholic Church, 103 E. South Street, Union, South Carolina 29379.