[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22838-22839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    IN MEMORY OF ZOE ANN ORR MARCUS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 16, 2000

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, today I honor the life of Zoe 
Ann Orr Marcus of Watsonville, California. Ms. Marcus, an integral part 
of the Pajaro Valley communities, died on Thursday, September 28, 2000.
  Zoe was born in 1913 in Berkeley, California, but soon moved south to 
San Jose with her parents. She graduated from Stanford University with 
a degree in biological sciences, and received her master's degree in 
marine biology from Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove. She later 
returned to Stanford to earn her teaching credentials. It was at 
Stanford that she met her future husband, Frank Fletcher Orr, and they 
were married in 1941. At that time, Mr. Orr was the managing editor of 
the Watsonville Register Pajaronian, but he was to later serve with the 
U.S. Army in the European Theater during World War II. While he served 
as chief of still-picture operations, Ms. Marcus taught at Woods Hole 
Marine Institute in Massachusetts.
  After the war, the couple returned to Watsonville, and in 1949 Mr. 
Orr was named editor of the Pajaronian. It was at this time that Mr. 
Orr purchased his family homestead on what is now East Beach Street in 
Watsonville. This Victorian farmhouse was built in 1868 by Mr. Orr's 
great-grandfather, Godfrey Bockius. Bockius was one of the

[[Page 22839]]

original organizers of the town of Watsonville, and was eventually 
elected as a county judge and a state assemblyman. Zoe and Frank 
restored this house together, adding a wing and modernizing many 
features of the original building. It was in this house that the Orr's 
entertained members of the Pajaronian staff, local community members, 
and the heads of local arts groups. Zoe's reputation as the pre-eminent 
hostess was well known throughout Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro 
Valley.
  Frank Orr passed away in 1985, and in 1989 Zoe and long-time family 
friend Gerald Marcus were married. It was in these years that Ms. 
Marcus was most active in her community. Perhaps one of her most 
enduring legacies was her donation of the Bockius-Orr house and its 
lands to the Pajaro Valley Historical Association in 1991. The 
Association uses this house as an office and a museum open to the 
public. Zoe was also active in the Girl Scouts, the Santa Cruz 
Symphony, the Cabrillo Music Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the 
Cabrillo Foundation, the Greater Santa Cruz County Community Foundation 
and the American Association of University Women. She was honored for 
her volunteer work by both the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors 
and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
  Mr. Speaker, as you can see, Zoe Ann Orr Marcus was an important part 
of many different aspects of life in Santa Cruz County and beyond, and 
will be sorely missed by her stepdaughter Mary Marcus of Capitola; 
stepson John Marcus of Watsonville; and cousin Betty Ann Chandler of 
San Jose. Her familiar presence will also be missed by the many people 
who have been touched by her energy and passion for life.

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