Benjamin George Marcin
Benjamin George Marcin was born on the 25th of December, 1920 in Balbieriskis, Lithuania to Stanley and Anna Marcinkevicius. The family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1922, slipping across the border from Canada. Early in catholic school the nuns clipped his name which his Father accepted gladly.
Ben graduated from Brooklyn Tech HS in 1939, received his BS degree in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) and was a Fellow in the Engineering Department. He worked for a short time with the Pennsylvania Railroad until drafted into the Army in 1944. It was in the Army that Ben was made a US citizen. The Army sent 2nd Lt. Marcin to the University of Illinois where he acquired his second BS degree in Sanitation Engineering.
Ben’s love for Anne may well have started when they were first introduced at age five by the Kulis and Marcin families. Their next meeting was in 1939 while Anne was at Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. This meeting was to be the one that sealed their bond, with Ben proposing on Valentine’s Day 1944 and married the 8th of December, 1945. Ben sailed to Europe in Feb of 1946 and returned that same year. Their daughter Carol Ann was born on the 28th of December 1948.
Ben began his long career as an engineer with the M.W. Kellogg Company in 1947. He was to work for Kellogg until 1983. During his career he traveled through four continents and many of the Pacific island nations. He held a Professional Engineers License in all but 10 of the states and also holds a US patent, which are just a very few of his other professional accomplishments.
Ben’s talents were not only professional; he was an avid wood turner, made his own furniture and loved new gadgets of all kinds. However his primary love was as the exclusive chauffeur for Anne, driving her where ever she wished to go, choral practices, painting classes, church. He loved to see her enjoying her many talents and endeavors and would take her and go get her or frequently just stay to listen and enjoy the voice he loved so much.
Ben spent his life in love of Anne and their families, working to provide the best he could give them and to his daughter. While Ben was a quiet man and was most comfortable around his family, he was not timid and would speak his mind on many subjects. Ben Marcin worked for a dream for Anne, Carol, Tom and himself and saw that through to the end on Orcas Island in the home he built which he loved.
Contributed by the Marcin-Burg family
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
Michelle & I attended the same church as Ben and Ann. It was there that We had the great pleasure of kidding with Ben and admiring Anne’s voice as she sang in the choir. Also her festive sweaters for every season and holiday. Ben was a member of “The Greatest Generation” and contributed to all that knew him. We are honored to call Carol & Tom our dear Friends. Charlie &Michelle Clark
I met Ben when we both worked at The M. W. Kellogg Company in New York City. He was one of the leaders in the Engineering Department and continued in this role when the company moved to Houston, TX. He became expert in modular engineering and shared his skills with many of Kellogg’s clients. Later, in retirement on Orcas, Ben and his family were our highly respected and kind neighbors. We admired Anne’s singing in the Orcas Choir Society with Ben as a faithful listener in the audience. Ben will be sorely missed by
many. Our love and prayers go out to Anne, Carol, Tom and all the Marcin family.
Ruth and Rolf Nedelmann
Just like Rolf, I also worked for The M. W. Kellogg Company in New York City. I got to know Ben well in the 70’s in Houston. Ben was one of those brilliant men who often out-ran other’s headlights. Rolf’s comments reminded me of Ben’s leadership in the integration of modular engineering and construction into our practices. Challenged with the “Not Invented Here” syndrome, Ben remained undaunted and applied his unusual quiet, yet forceful passion to his mission. He did so in everything he did. When I became VP of Engineering in 1986, I would have loved to have Ben Marcin on the team. Of course, I missed him by just by three years with Ben retiring in 1983. There was only one Ben Marcin and he is remembered very fondly.
We extend our thoughts and prayers to the entire Marcin family.
Blessings from the Colorado Waldheims.
My father is/was Hubert “Sheets” Schietinger. Dad passed away in 2011 and I can remember him speaking well and with respect of Mr. Marcin. Our prayers and thoughts are with you. Sounds like he had a great life.
Although Kevin and I only met Ben once we enjoyed his stories of Carol growing up. This is a beautiful tribute to his life.Know you are all in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Kevin and Marsha