My parents, Paul and Rusty Cantor, were friends of Marcia and Floyd's for many years. I'm it sure how hey met. Marcia and my mom may have met in a a book group. We spent many evenings at the Chamlee home. The house was filled with hippie crafts. Marcia would collage 3 gallon (?) ice cream containers and filled them with art supplies or toys. There were always fun things to do. Marcia was so warm and kind. I was such a shy awkward kid and she always reached out to me. I'll never forget. I'm really kicking myself for not finding her before she passed. Such a hard lesson. My favorite story is that, one night, when the parents were all drinking and carousing and I clearly wants to be on my own, she took me to her son's room. He was away, perhaps at college. I was maybe 13. Before she left the room and shut the door, she opened a drawer full of Playboys and said that I was welcome to check these out. Needless to say, I was a very happy pubescent boy for the next our or two. What a gal. Still makes me smile. Goodbye dear woman. Matt Cantor

Memories of Marcia Bennett Chamlee by Colleen Norton Taylor

I have some very fond memories of my cousin, Marcia Bennett Chamlee.  She was almost as close to me as my little and only sister, Melba Norton Henderson.  Marcia was my brother Lynn’s age with only 2 or 3 months apart.  Marcia’s brother, Golden Robert, was between us. 

We always either lived close or lived together growing up.  We were born in Canada.  We both lived on ranches in McGrath, Alberta, Canada.

We were always at Grandmom or Granddad Norton’s in town or up at Aunt Myrtle’s house with all our other Passey cousins.  Aunt Verda was a very good cook and Marcia had good training.  When we were out playing Lynn and Gold would hunt “bird eggs” and Marcia and I would make mud pies with the eggs.  What fun! Marcia was always fun to be with.  

Marcia loved to draw and she’d design clothes for our paper dolls that we cut out of the catalog.  She should have been a clothing designer.  She was smart and had a fine vocabulary.  I always admired her.  Aunt Verda was a beautiful seamstress and she made Marcia lovely clothes and sometimes I got to wear them.

We all lived together in Burley, Idaho when we all got down from Canada.  Marcia, Gold, Lynn and I stayed with our Norton Grandparents in Vancouver B.C. while our parents got our citizenship papers.

While we went to school, Marcia’s dad was away selling men’s suits for Utah Woolen Mills and my dad was in road construction in Nevada.  Times were tough then but we managed along with our mother’s working.

Marcia was popular in high school and had lots of friends.  I was young enough to enjoy having an older sister.  She’d confide in me about all her “love life”.

Marcia and family moved to Boise and our family followed later.  We went to school in Boise.  It was wartime (World War II) and our dad’s went to Portland for the war effort, working in the ship yards.  We all lived together in Boise, Idaho while our mothers’ worked in stores in Boise.

It was in Boise, Idaho where Marcia met Floyd Chamlee in high school.  She dated him and others, but decided on Floyd. He was a big handsome guy!  Almost out of high school they eloped and got married.  Needless to say, I was in on that.  I carried Marcia’s suitcase (secretly) downstairs so they could elope.  Aunt Verda was a little unhappy with me for that.   At that age I thought that was so romantic!! Marcia graduated and moved to Vancouver, Washington.  School was out so we joined our fathers in Portland.  We lived in Banport and Verda,  Lloyd and Gold lived in Vancouver. 

Linda was born in Vanport and I volunteered to help Marcia when she got home.  I washed Linda’s diapers!  I was a teenager going to high school and I don’t remember just when they went to Corvallis, Oregon so Floyd could go to college.  I did go down and visit them there before they moved to Chino, California.

When they lived in Chino, California I rode the bus down from Portland to visit and we packed up and went “camping” for the weekend.  What fun we had!!  Linda was about 2 or 3 years old then. 

I got married in 1946 and we lost contact for a few years while we were raising our families.  They came to visit us in Almo, Idaho once one summer and we enjoyed that.  We kept track by letters and phone calls.  I really loved my cousins especially Marcia and Gold.

In California, Lynn and Mabel visited a lot and if Lynn were alive he could tell lots of stories about Marcia and Gold.   Marcia loved to entertain them and Lynn loved to visit with Floyd and Marcia.  Lynn and Mabel lived in San Diego and drove down to Chino to visit.

I’m 83 and we’ll be with each other again one of these days and we’ll have a happy reunion, I’m sure!!

Colleen Taylor

4038 Sunnybrook Drive

Pocatello, Idaho   83202