Marjorie Beeson Engel, 78, of Eagles Mere, PA, passed away peacefully on

Tuesday, October 4, 2023, at a retirement home near Pittsburgh.

Marjorie (Marjorie Holmes Vandergrift Beeson) Engel was born in Pasadena, CA,

on January 24, 1945, the daughter of Henry Robinson Beeson and June (Marjorie

Holmes Vandergrift) Beeson. She graduated from Uniontown (PA) High School in

1963 and attended Mansfield College before moving to Washington, D.C., to work

for Riggs Bank. Her father was an attorney who, in World War II, was a P-38

Lightning pilot and who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal

with six Oak Leaf Clusters. Her mother was a director in community theater, an

entrepreneur who bought properties & restored them, as well as being a top notch

cook. Marjorie was a descendant of Captain Jacob Jay Vandegrift of Pittsburgh, for

whom Vandergrift, PA, was named.

She met Steven R. Engel, the love of her life, while in Washington, and they were

married in Eagles Mere, PA, on May 27, 1967.

During 20 years of military service, Steve and Marjorie lived in Panama, Arizona,

Massachusetts, and Maryland. After Steve’s army retirement, they lived in North

Carolina. In 1984, they returned to Eagles Mere to manage Carousel Cottage

(formerly Flora Villa Inn) with her children, Gus and Mimi, and her mother, June.

Overseeing Carousel, Marjorie assumed many roles, from top chef, gardener and

reservationist to wife, mother, and daughter.

They briefly lived Williamsport and North Carolina before returning to and retiring

in Eagles Mere in 2006. 

Marjorie was an avid game player who loved to play bridge, scrabble, and bingo

and would attempt to enlist anyone within reach to join her in a game. She loved

the community of Eagles Mere.

Marjorie was predeceased by her parents, husband Steve, and brother George

Robinson “Rob” Beeson. She is survived by her daughter Mimi; son Gus and his

wife Annie and their children, Will, Rory, and Jack; her brother Richard Hoe and

his wife Lynne; and her sister-in-law, Rob’s wife, Laurie Mitchell Beeson. Also

surviving are her brothers-in-law Michael (wife Linda) and Allen (wife Deniece)

Engel, and sister-in-law Francis Turman (husband Lee).

A memorial celebration of her life will take place August of 2024 in Eagles Mere. 

Marjorie was a cat lover and adopted many cats throughout her life – beginning at

an early age when they follow her home from school and she would ask to keep

them. If you’d like to make a donation in Marjorie’s name, please send it to the

Bradford Country Humane Society, PO Box 179, 28412 Route 220, Ulster, PA

18850. Arrangements by John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc. (freyvogelfuneralhome.com)