Marie Walker Plant was born on February 27, 1929 in New York City, daughter of Marie Muhlfeld Walker and Charles Herbert Walker of Niantic, CT, and elder sister to Jane Walker Stevenson and Sarah Eliza Walker.
She spent her early childhood in Hartford, CT and Scarsdale, NY. Marie summered in her beloved Old Black Point, Niantic, CT for over seventy years. She attended Scarsdale High School, Chatham Hall in Virginia, and Briarcliff Jr. College in New York. After marrying John M. Lilley in November of 1950, she lived in the Far East, where her son Frank was born in Guam in 1952. She returned to the US in 1958.
Marie married David W. Plant in 1963 in New York City, where their daughter Susan was born in 1966. Marie lived in New York City for over twenty years and was an active fundraiser for the Graham Home for Children and other charitable organizations, and was an avid volunteer for the New York Hospital.
In 1980, Marie moved permanently to her cherished Old Black Point summer home, where she excelled in tennis, won multiple croquet championships, and spent many warm evenings at the beach with her childhood friends. Marie died on September 21, 2009 in Medford, MA, with her son, daughter, and daughter-in-law by her side.
She is survived by her son Frank W. Lilley, daughter-in-law Karen Lilley, and grandson Robert Lilley of Boylston, MA; by her daughter Susan W. Plant, son-in-law Danyul Cho, and granddaughter Mina Cho of Arlington, MA; by nine Stevenson nieces and nephews, five first cousins, and her adored cats Lucy and Sarah Eliza.
Services were held at the Flanders Baptist Church, 138 Boston Post Road Niantic, CT at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 3, 2009. In lieu of flowers, it is Marie’s wish that donations be made to the Niantic Animal Hospital, 9 Lake Ave., Niantic, CT 06357 or to the Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111. For additional information, please visit, www.magliozzifuneralhome.com.