Evelyn Chostner Marboe, 83, of State College, died suddenly on Saturday, April 12, 2003, at Centre Community Hospital.
She was born on March 15, 1920, in Detroit, a daughter of the late Dr. Grover C. Chostner and Mabelle Siefers Chostner. On April 19, 1944, she wed the late Robert F. Marboe.
Bob Marboe served until his retirement as assistant director of Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory.
They were happily married for 53 years until his death in 1998.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University in 1941 and a Master of Science in chemistry from Penn State in 1943.
She served as an associate professor of solid-state chemistry in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State, where she taught for 35 years until her retirement in 1980. During her university career, she had a lengthy research collaboration with Dr. Woldemar Weyl of Penn State that yielded the seminal three-volume treatise "The Constitution of Glasses: A Dynamic Interpretation," and more than 40 scientific papers. She was the holder of two patents in glass technology.
She was distinguished for her service to the State College community, the region and the state. She was an active member of the State College branch of the American Association of University Women for 50 years, serving as president during the branch's 50th anniversary in 1966, board member and, until her death, investment adviser, in which capacity she helped establish and manage the State College Branch Endowment Fund. She was particularly pleased to have created the Evelyn Chostner Marboe AAUW State College Branch Scholarship in 2001 for adult women returning as undergraduate students at Penn State.
She served actively with the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens of Centre County for more than 40 years. She was president, treasurer, board member and chairwoman of the recreation committee of the ARC. In 1980, she received the ARC's Outstanding Achievement Award for her service. In 2001, she was named Volunteer of the Year for the Centre County ARC. She further served on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania State ARC, and in 1975 was named chairwoman of the PARC Board's Public Health Services Committee, where she was active in working on the prevention of and research into mental retardation, early intervention care and family support services. Her work at the state level was instrumental in establishing PKU and hypothyroidism screening for all newborns in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In 1990, Gov. Robert P. Casey appointed her as a member of the board of directors of Laurelton Center, a state center for mentally retarded persons. She served as board president in 1990, was reappointed to the board in 1991 and served until recently, when the Laurelton Center closed.
She was a founder and past president of the Family Planning Council of Central Pennsylvania, past chairwoman of the Mental Health-Mental Retardation board of Centre County and past member of the board of trustees of Centre Community Hospital, where she assisted in planning for the building of the Centre Community Hospital in State College. In 1971, she was awarded the Benjamin Rush Award, which is presented by the Centre County Medical Society to honor a nonmedical individual's contributions to the health and welfare of Centre County.
She was preceded in death by her husband and a sister, Rosemary Chostner Schreiber.
She is survived by one daughter, Carol Ann Marboe, of State College; two sons, Dr. Charles C. Marboe (and daughter-in-law Barbara C. Hewson), of Larchmont, N.Y., and Dr. Richard C. Marboe (and daughter-in-law Rose D. Marboe), of State College; and four grandchildren, Kari and Elinor Marboe, of Larchmont, and Teresa and Paul Marboe, of State College.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the State College Presbyterian Church, 132 W. Beaver Ave., State College, with the Rev. Charles J. Curley officiating.
Following the service, friends will be received in the church and a reception will be held in the social hall of the church.
Burial will be with her husband in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Endowment Fund of the ARC of Centre County, 1840 N. Atherton St., State College, PA 16803, to the Evelyn Chostner Marboe AAUW Scholarship at Penn State, 1 Old Main, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, or to the Campaign for the Centre Region's New Public Library, newlibrary.campaign@ verizon.net.
