In 1953 she wed high school classmate Roderick Sheldon Webster, to whom she was married for forty-four years until he passed away in 1997. Early in their marriage, with Roderick's engineering background and Marjorie's interest in art and archeology, they discovered and nurtured a mutual lifelong passion for antique astronomical instruments through the Adler Planetarium. From 1962-1969 they served as volunteer caretakers of Adler's antique instrument collection. In 1970 they were named Co-Curators, still as volunteers, retiring from that position in 1991. In the intervening almost half a century, Roderick and Marjorie helped build the collection and prestige of the Planetarium in a number of ways. They were involved in acquiring more than half of all the current collections. In the words of Kenneth Nebenzahl, an expert and dealer in rare maps and books in Chicago and an Adler Board member, "their enthusiasm has made the crucial difference between this institution being a great, nationally respected sky show venue, and its position as a world-renowned science museum…one of the three most important in the world, along with Oxford and Florence."
The Websters developed the Adler's library of astronomy and navigation, now one of the world's greatest collections of historic scientific instruments, rare books, maps, works on paper, and materials documenting our exploration and understanding of the universe. Their research in museums and private collections throughout North America and Europe resulted in a database of more than 15,000 scientific instrument makers over the past five centuries. The database is accessed daily by scholars and citizens around the globe. In 1998, Marjorie and Roderick published the definitive Western Astrolabes on historical, scientific instruments of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Volume I, which inspired the creation of another volume on eastern astrolabes. In the process of the research, they met and befriended museum curators, instrument dealers and scholars around the world. Adler Vice President for Collections, Marvin Bolt, said that their "passion and vision have touched the lives and shaped the experiences of tens of millions of people who have walked through these doors and tens of millions who will visit the Adler in decades to come."
Marjorie and her husband developed lasting relationships with Adler staff, often providing scholarships for graduate school. To continue their legacy, in 2006 the Planetarium created the Webster Institute for the History of Astronomy and in 2008 launched a new Adler support group, the Webster Club, to strengthen and preserve its collections. Marjorie was a Life Trustee on Adler's Board of Trustees and served on the Visiting Committee of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. She also served on the Woman's Board and the Library Committee of the Art Institute and was active in the Antiquarian Society of the Art Institute. For decades she was a Board member of Penobscot Marine Museum, Penobscot, Maine. Her great grandfather, Captain Jonathan Dow, had sailed the ship Clarissa B. Carver out of Penobscot, plying the China spice trade during the 1800s and employing nautical instruments not unlike those she amassed for the Adler.
Marjorie leaves one niece, Deirdre (Derry) Healy Henderson, two nephews, Hall (Anne) Healy and Duncan (Carrie) Healy; three grand nieces, Aleya Dao (Doug) Noll, Katherine Healy (Dan) Darnell and Caroline Healy, two grand nephews, Dylan (Forest) Henderson and Charles Healy; two great grand nephews, August Henderson and Ethan Darnell; and three great grand nieces, Maren Darnell, Skye Henderson and Avery Darnell. She also leaves her sister-in-law Janet Ingram Kelly and dear friends and companions, including Karin Fridlund.
Services will be held in Santa Barbara at Casa Dorinda, 300 Hot Springs Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, 805-969-8011, on Saturday, May 28 at 4:00 pm; and at Christ Church, 784 Sheridan Road, Winnetka, IL 60093, 847-446-2850 on Monday June 27 at 5:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Adler Planetarium, 1300 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 | (312) 922 7827, or online at: https://adlerplanetarium.wufoo.com/forms/give-to-the-adler/.
Published in Chicago Tribune on May 25, 2011 - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=marjorie-kelly-webster&pid=151274723#sthash.te59jTeH.dpuf
