Marji Boggs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marjorie 'Marji' Elizabeth (Gunn) Boggs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Born in Memphis, Tennessee to Marjorie Moore Gunn and John Lindsey Gunn on March 31, 1942, Marji was known to family by 'Betty' as a child and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas before the family moved to southern California.

As a young woman, Marji attended Bakersfield High School. She went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, where she met her first husband Jurgen Knemeyer and earned a Political Science BA. She spent several years on the west coast and reconnected with a friend of her brother who would eventually become her second husband, Rodney Boggs. By the early 1970s Marji and Rodney Boggs relocated to Carroll County and her parents followed, making a home in Berryville after a few memorable years in Eureka Springs. With a desire to pursue teaching, she attended the University of Arkansas College of Education in the 1990s and established a continuous career thereafter as an instructor in Adult Education for Northark College at the Berryville classrooms with an emphasis in ESL education. She cared deeply for her students and also enjoyed teaching citizenship classes and community Spanish language classes.

Marjorie's diverse friendships and activities were a testament to her compassion and loving nature. She was a tireless volunteer, serving on the library and church boards, assisting with Spanish translations and political action groups.

Always on the go, Marji embraced all people and diverse interests. She would be quick to talk up the latest NBA or Razorback basketball game, take a swim at Trigger Gap, sing in her choir, attend a political rally or play her autoharp with the Southern Zephyrs and friends. A pretty girl winning 'Miss Cotton' in her youth, she worked to keep herself in good health with organic gardening, natural foods and dancing with her friends at monthly music parties.

Marji passed quickly from pneumonia on April 8, 2018, a week following her 76th birthday celebration surrounded by many friends. Ms. Boggs is preceded in death by her brother Robert Gunn and husbands Jurgen Knemeyer and R.D. Boggs, as well as her parents. She is survived by her beloved sister Peggy Meserve, husband George and son Shane of Tallahassee, Florida; daughters Lisa Knemeyer Skiles and husband Albert of Fayetteville and Darcy Anne Boggs of Bella Vista; god-daughter Jennifer Langover and her daughter Sarah of Bentonville; step-daughter Sabrina Knemeyer; step-grandchildren Marina Skiles of Carbondale, Colorado and Duncan Skiles and his wife Elizabeth Pierotti of Brooklyn; great-granddaughters Vianne and Leslie, dog Romie and many friends.

A public memorial service will be held Saturday, April 14, 2018, 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Berryville. A private celebration-of-life for extended family and close friends is also planned for late May. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a charitable contribution. Organizations that reflect her interests include the Berryville Public Library, Kings River Watershed Partnership, her church, the Democratic Party of Carroll County and immigrant empowerment nonprofits such as Arkansas United.

Friends, students and family will miss her generous, smart and loving ways.

Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation
106 Spring Street
Berryville, Arkansas 72616
(Include a note saying you want the donation designated for Berryville.)

Kings River Watershed Partnership: http://www.kingsriverwatershed.org/join-us!.html

Berryville United Methodist Church
PO Box 267
400 Eureka Avenue
Berryville, AR 72616

Democratic Party of Carroll County: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dpccark

Arkansas United: https://act.myngp.com/Forms/6780581056736528384