Marjorie Moore Anania

Marjorie Moore Anania, age 89, of Oshkosh died Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 at Evergreen Retirement Community. She was born in Hammond IN, the daughter of Franklin and Ella Ramsay Moore.Mrs. Anania was a member of the First Congregational Church of Oshkosh. She attended Lincoln School and Merrill School for her primary and secondary years and was a 1938 graduate of Oshkosh High School. She earned her elementary teaching degree from Oshkosh State Teachers College and joined the Oshkosh School District in 1952 as a first grade teacher. Thirty of her thirty-three wonderful years of service were devoted to Longfellow School. Mrs. Anania retired from teaching first grade at Webster Stanley Elementary in 1985.Mrs. Anania brought loving warmth and humor and imagination into her classroom. In her retirement she spoke so often of the joys spent in reading and in singing with her adorable first graders. She valued the unique characteristics of every child for she herself was so very special in her heart and soul.Her warmth poured forth through her music because Mrs. Anania was blessed with a magnificent voice and her listeners were so moved by her depth of feeling.She attended Westminster Choir College and was a soloist with the traveling choir singing under the direction of Frank Black, Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rodzinski, Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski. She attended the Institute of Musical Art, undergraduate School of Juilliard and toured with the Philadelphia Opera Company. She enjoyed performing comedy roles with Papermill Playhouse in Millbum, NJ and with American Civic Opera in NY.Mrs. Anania shared her music as a summer soloist in many area churches and in concert with The Apollo Singers, The Oshkosh Symphony, and Lawrence University and she will be remembered for her comedy performances in numerous Fox Valley area community theatre groups including Oshkosh Junior Theatre, Oshkosh Community Players, Musicale Inc., Drama Lab, UWO-Opera Theatre, Neenah Riverside Players, UWGB-Menasha Extension Gilbert and Sullivan productions, Appleton Attic Theatre, and Actors Repertory Theatre. Some memorable roles include: Dolly in Hello Dolly, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, and Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, to name only a few.Marjorie Anania is survived by her sister, Jean Moore Castle of Oshkosh, her daughter, Christine and John Dempsey of Oshkosh, her adult grandchildren, Mac Dempsey of Madison, Ben and Tiffany Dempsey of Madison, and Libby Dempsey of Milwaukee, in addition to one great-grandson, Riley Dempsey.In keeping with Marjorie Ananias expressed wishes there will be a private family gathering and in lieu of flowers, donations may be shared with a church choir or musical organization of choice. The family would like to thank Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home for their sensitive guidance and Aurora Hospice for their invaluable support and especially, the entire staff at Evergreen for their experienced and loving care.Marjorie Anania touched the hearts of all who knew her through the beauty of her singing, through the mischief in her humor, and through the warmth and depth of her soul. She most surely will be missed.It is poignant that as Mrs. Ananias life drew to a close, one of her former first graders cared for her tenderly at Evergreen and another escorted her away. It was her life coming full circle within the loving, appreciative community of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.