Marjorie Barnes

Marjorie Ironside Barnes, formerly of Rancho Bernardo, CA and Ithaca, NY passed away peacefully in Tucson, AZ on August 23, 2016 at the age of 103. Born in Compton, CA to George and Eliza (Nesser) Ironside, Marjorie was raised in St. Paul, MN where she attended Hamline University and the University of Minnesota. She married Richard (Dick) Henry Barnes at the Barnes family home in San Diego, CA in 1942. While her husband served as Dean and Professor of the Graduate School of Nutrition at Cornell University, Marjorie was deeply involved in community programs serving as chair for the local hospital's Candy Striper program, president of the PTA and founder of the local auxiliary for Sage Hospital at Cornell. She was president of the Campus Club for women in academia and faculty wives of Cornell and was an active member of the Ithaca Garden Club, chairing many events, including several flower shows and area beautification projects. Her favorite contribution to Ithaca was the inception and organization of the planting of two groves of memorial crabapple trees that still line the inlet to Cayuga Lake. Upon retirement in 1976, Marjorie and Dick returned to San Diego. Widowed in 1978, Marjorie moved to Rancho Bernardo, CA where she was instrumental in organizing the newly developed homeowners' association for Oaks North Villas, as secretary and president of the Board. She was also on the board of the San Diego Continuing Education Center in Rancho Bernardo. A lifelong lover of classical music, Marjorie served two terms as a Director to the governing board of the Women’s League of the San Diego Symphony. At the same time, she was actively involved with the San Diego Opera through the Rancho Bernardo Guild and as chair of the Rancho Bernardo chapter of the San Diego Symphony Auxiliary. A strong supporter of music in the schools, Marjorie was part of a team of volunteers who founded the Advocates for Classical Music (AFCM,) which gathers, repairs and cleans used musical instruments for student use. AFCM is now an official part of the San Diego Symphony auxiliaries. She was on the AFCM board until 2007. She was also an active member of the advisory board for the San Diego Youth Symphony. Marjorie and Dick are survived by three daughters, Kyle Barnes Frank (Gerald) of Tucson, AZ, Marjorie Anne Schey (Theodore Ill) of Longmont, CO and Lisa Barnes MacBain (William) of Gaithersburg, MD, six grandchildren, Kathie Leyva, Amanda (Jason) Oliphant, Neal (Andrea) Frank, Megan Schey, Richard (Johanna) MacBain, Abigail MacBain and four great grandchildren.