It was an estate sale like no other. There was an entire room crammed with just coats! There were at least four separate closets stuffed with dresses, as well as garment racks and shelving units lining the walls that were all overloaded with blouses, sweaters, purses, scarves, and gloves.
I dug through the racks and shelves, surrounded by other shoppers, without hardly any sense of competition, because there was more than enough to go around. There was just SO MUCH of it!
Marjorie certainly loved clothes…and weren't we glad of it!
Her estate sale was well publicized, partly due to the sheer scale of it, but also because she was a well known figure in the area, as she and her husband were local philanthropists. Unlike most other estate sales I’ve attended, I went into the sale having an idea of whose home I was entering. And after leaving the sale with a good chunk of her closet, I wanted to learn more about this woman who had such good taste in clothing! Thanks to a few google searches, asking around at the estate sale, and spending some time going down the ancestry.com rabbithole, I have learned a few things about her life:
Marjorie Laird was born on July 27th, 1929 to Russell and Gertrude Laird in Jackson, Michigan. Two years later, her sister Carolyn was born. Between 1935 and 1940, the Lairds moved to Harrison, Indiana, and Marjorie eventually attended high school at Wiley High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, where she served as secretary of the Latin club. Her senior yearbook records her plans to attend Indiana State Teacher's College (later Indiana State University) and become a secretary, and that’s exactly what she did!
Marjorie's high school senior & college freshman yearbook photos from 1947 & 1948.
After graduating college, Marjorie must have gotten a job at Mid-Continent Petroleum Co in Terre Haute, Indiana. I found a photo of the company Christmas party she attended in 1949 with a guy named Dan. You can see them standing in the back at the far right. I’m not sure how long things continued with Dan, but in the summer of 1950, Marjorie met Jack Richmond.
Marjorie and Dan in 1949; Jack Richmond in 1940 during his college years.
Jack always loved telling the story of how they met: They were both living in Clark County, Illinois at the time, and he happened to see her from across the street. The problem was, they were both out with other dates! But this didn’t discourage Jack. He walked up to her to introduce himself, and ended up inviting her AND her date to join him and his date at dinner. I can only imagine how that dinner went! Soon enough, Jack and Marjorie went on a date of their own, and it happened to fall on her 21st birthday. He took her to neighboring Terre Haute, Indiana, where they ended up playing ping-pong. “How’d you get to be so good?” He asked after she won the game, and she told him: “I used to be the ping-pong champion in high school!”
It sounds like their first date went well, but things progressed between them very slowly. I’m not sure how serious they were about each other initially, but I do know that Marjorie moved to Toledo, Ohio at some point in the 1950s to work as a legal secretary at Owens-Corning, a roofing and insulation developer. Marjorie’s mother, Gertrude, lived with her in Toledo until her death in 1964.
Marjorie and Gertrude in 1953.
Marjorie with her sister, Carolyn, and her niece, Marsha, in December 1962.
Marjorie continued living and working in Toledo after her mother’s death. She had an address there as late as 1974, but by 1987, she was living at a house in Champaign, Illinois, and it was that house where her estate sale was held.
After living in Champaign for what could have been as long as 14 years, Marjorie married Jack Richmond in 1988, after what one article tactfully described as a “long courtship”. She was 59, and he was 71. What had kept them apart for the better part of 40 years?
It wasn’t until I went back for the next day of the sale that I learned the reason: According to the chatty estate sale workers, Marjorie and Jack were an item for many years before they were married. It was only because of Jack's mother that they didn't make it official. Apparently, Jack's mother, Mildred, was afraid that Jack would no longer be a doting son if he got married. She worried his marriage would keep him from caring for her in her old age. When he first met Marjorie in 1950, Jack's mother was only in her 60s, which makes this request seem incredibly selfish. But perhaps Marjorie and Jack weren’t all that serious at first. After all, she moved to Ohio sometime in the mid 50s and took care of her own mother until her death in the mid 60s. In Jack’s obituary, this period in their lives was described as a time when they both focused on pursuing successful careers and caring for their aging parents. But, then, you could also make the argument that Jack and Marjorie were immediately serious, and she only moved to Ohio when the situation seemed hopeless. Regardless, duty and distance did nothing to kill their relationship. After carrying on a long distance relationship for some time while she worked in Toledo, Marjorie finally purchased a house around the corner from Jack and his mother. Even if they couldn’t make it official, at least she could be near him.
Mildred Richmond as a young woman; Marjorie, Jack, and Mildred in the 1970s.
Jack’s mother lived into her 90s. She died in 1988, and Marjorie and Jack finally got married only three months later. I'm not sure what's more impressive: Jack's dedication to his mother's wishes, or Marjorie's patience in waiting all those years to marry him. I would have assumed she didn't care that much about having the ring on her finger if it wasn't for the fact they married so quickly after his mother's death.
It’s easy to blame Jack’s mother for being so selfish, but ultimately it was Jack’s choice whether he would abide by her wishes. Despite everything, it's clear that Jack cared deeply for his mother. When he won a trip to Japan while working as a salesman, he opted to bring his mother with him, because she had given up a trip around the world with her own mother to stay home and care for him when he was young. Jack must have felt it was his duty to pay back the sacrifices she made for him.
Although Marjorie and Jack had a loving relationship for over 50 years, their married years were sadly marred by reocurring health issues. They had dreamed of traveling the world together, but were not able to do all that they had hoped when the time finally came.
Instead of traveling, Marjorie shopped. I was told at the estate sale that Marjorie would get up every morning and head out to the shops. They said that when they had first gone into her house, there were so many garment bags and boxes of clothes everywhere they could barely even move from room to room! Many of the garment bags bore the name of one her favorite stores: Bergner's. Apparently, she developed a reputation for trying to return items there. I'm not sure if the issue was that they were past date or if she had already worn them, but whatever the reason, Bergner's was finally forced to blacklist her! The estate sale workers even joked that losing her as a customer must have been the reason Bergner's went out of business.
This is not to suggest that Jack and Marjorie squandered their wealth. They are locally known for their very generous contributions to the University of Illinois, Jack’s alma mater. In addition to several other sizable donations, they contributed $2 million to build the Richmond Teaching Studio for television journalism students. During their lives, they contributed $6 million to the university, adding millions more to that number after their death, as much of their estate was left to the university.
Marjorie and Jack in their later years.
Jack Richmond passed away in 2011 after a long illness. A friend remembered him as “totally down to earth and humble”. Marjorie said of him: “He was a sweetheart. I loved him dearly. He’s just a wonderful, wonderful man, very compassionate.”
It appears that Marjorie stayed out of the limelight during her final years. When she died on August 16th, 2017, she was living in a retirement home. Although she had very few family members still living, if any, she had many close friends who she cared deeply for. Her obituary speaks mostly of her time as a benefactor, but it does mention that she was very devoted to her husband, enjoyed music, and was a long time member of the First Presbyterian Church.
Learning more about Marjorie has brought her many articles of clothing to life! I look at one of her dresses and wonder if she wore it out on a date with Jack, or maybe the day she met his mother? I pick up a sweater and imagine her wearing it on her first day on the job at Owens-Corning! The bulk of the clothing that came from her estate dates from the late 50s through the late 70s, so most of it was probably purchased and worn during her time in Toledo, but she cared enough about it to box it all up when she moved from Ohio to Illinois.
Some of Marjorie's dresses.
Majorie's clothing is part of her story, so I've noted the items in the shop that once belonged to her for those of you who are curious. You can find all the clothing from Marjorie's closet that is currently available by searching "Marjories closet" on Pattern or Etsy (or by clicking here). Some of her garments can also be found on Instagram (including those that have already sold) under #marjoriescloset (or by clicking here). Several of her garments currently hang in my own closet, and others have already found new homes, but there are plenty of items still available that are ready to play their part in another story.
Sources: