After a short illness, Marie Harris Hanna died peacefully Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010, at age 94, at Midcoast Senior Health Center in Brunswick, Maine, surrounded by her loving family.
Marie was born July 31, 1916, in Helena, Mont. She lived in Dallas, Texas, until shortly after she married. While in Dallas, she attended the Bradfield School, Highland Park High School and Southern Methodist University. She was predeceased by her parents, Mary and George McAlister Harris, and her four half-brothers, Vincent, Andrew, James and Edward Beakey, who all resided in the Dallas area.
Marie is survived by her devoted husband of 73 years, Terence Patrick Hanna, born in Bidston, Cheshire, England. Marie and Terence met in Dallas while both working in the Dallas Cotton Exchange. They went on to live in many places throughout their long marriage, including St, Louis, Mo., during World War II; Weston, Conn., where they started a family; Newport Beach, Lido Island and South Laguna Beach, Calif.; Southern Pines, where they lived in Middleton Place and Village Green; and recently, Brunswick, Maine, in order to be closer to some of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Marie was devoted to her family. She is survived by her two children, Bill Hanna and his wife, Joyce Hanna, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., and Christy Pulsifer and her husband, Mackin Pulsifer, of Cundy’s Harbor, Maine and Katonah, New York; her grandchildren, Catlin Evans and her husband, Brian Evans, of Queensland, Australia, Molly Casto and her husband, Sean Casto, of South Portland, Maine, Will Pulsifer and his wife, Carrie Pulsifer, of Yarmouth, Maine; her four great-grandchildren, Finn Evans, Katherine Pulsifer, Hale Pulsifer and Taylor Pulsifer; and numerous nieces and nephews in Dallas; and a niece in Wichita, Kan. Although distance separated her from some, she remained diligent about reaching out to those she loved through phone and mail to the end of her life.
In her younger days, Marie loved to sail with her husband and to travel. She loved flowers and gardening and created many beautiful needlepoint pieces. She also contributed her time to many volunteer organizations that involved helping to improve the lives of others. Most of all, she loved her family and friends, always ready with a warm smile and a healthy dose of Southern hospitality. She was a loving, charismatic person with a kind heart who will be greatly missed.
Her family would like to thank the staff at Sunnybrook Village, Midcoast Hospital and Bodwell House in Brunswick for their support and the exceptional and gentle, kind-hearted care they provided Marie at the end of her life.
There will be no services at this time.