MARJORIE LEE MACIUNAS

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Marjorie Lee (Williford) Maciunas—our loving mother, cherished grandmother, and friend to many—who left this world on January 25, 2025, at the age of 86, surrounded by her loving family.

 

Marjorie (Margie) was diagnosed with a heart valve condition this past October, which limited her remaining time to less than a year. With that in mind, her entire immediate family—her four children and six grandchildren—gathered at the farm in Kearneysville, West Virginia, where she lived next door to her daughter Kristina and her family, for a big Christmas celebration.

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Margie was born on March 29, 1938, in Dandridge, Tennessee, to Myra and Hollis Williford. She was the oldest of five children: three sisters and a brother—Barbara (Williford) Howard, Gwendolyn (Williford) McCoig, Lynda Williford, and Hollis “Quinter” Williford, Jr. She graduated from White Pine High School and went on to Carson-Newman College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education.

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In 1962, Margie met and married Jonas Maciunas. Through their marriage, she assimilated smoothly into the Lithuanian American community in New York—where they lived for the first dozen years of their marriage—even learning to speak Lithuanian. Margie was passionate about teaching children and taught in various schools as she followed Jonas's career, which took them to many locations within the United States and abroad. Most of her teaching career was in West Virginia, beginning in the mid-1970s when the family moved to Upshur County, and culminating at Augusta Elementary, where she taught for seven years until 1998. That year, Margie and Jonas moved to Germany to be closer to their grandchildren. One of the highlights of her career was the three years she spent teaching at a school on the Navajo Reservation in Mexican Hat, southern Utah. She particularly enjoyed the cultural and linguistic diversity that came with teaching on the reservation.

 

As the matriarch of the family, Margie maintained close ties with her children and grandchildren throughout their lives. She cherished family gatherings—of which there were many—where she delighted in indulging her grandchildren with gifts and art projects. She had a deep love for arts and literature and shared this passion with both her children and grandchildren. Margie maintained especially close relationships with all of her grandchildren, spending individual time with them through phone calls, emails, and social media.

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Margie was predeceased by her parents, Hollis and Myra Williford, and her husband of 46 years, Jonas Maciunas. She is survived by her four children: Drasa (Massae), Kristina (Conrad), Vytas (Lulu), and Vincas (Dimitra), as well as her six grandchildren: Julia, Mina, Tomas, Andreas, Sofija, and Alexander.

 

A celebration of Margie’s life will be held at the family farm in Kearneysville, West Virginia, on June 21, 2025. Details of the event will be shared in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marjorie’s name to provide art supplies for Windy Ridge Elementary School in Augusta, West Virginia. Please send checks to Kristina Maciunas at 386 Hawks Way, Kearneysville, WV 25430.

 

Margie—Mommy—Grandma will always be with us. She passed on her great sense of humor, appreciation for beauty, and love for joyful times spent with those she cherished.

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