Kittery Point – Marian "Mamie" Gerrish Craig, 96, of Kittery Point, Maine, died in hospice on December 12, 2015.

A descendant of early settlers to the Piscataqua region, she was born on June 30, 1919 in Oil City, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Charles Samuel and Marian (Sleeman) Gerrish.

Marian moved to Maine as a youth and attended Kittery schools, graduating from Traip Academy as a member of the National Honor Society with the Class of 1936.

Marian's life was dedicated to music, family, and her ancestral heritage.

An accomplished musician, Marian began piano study at an early age, eventually teaching hundreds of piano, organ, and harpsichord students. She was an organist, pianist, and choir-director at numerous Seacoast area churches over a span of several decades. She started her long musical career as a young teenager playing organ at the church across the street, the First Congregational Church at Kittery Point. She was a sought-after accompanist by musicians across New England, and loved classical and jazz music.

In addition to her husband, Robert Willis Craig of 76 years, survivors include three sons, Donald Gerrish Craig and his wife Merry of Kittery Point, Kenneth Arwood Craig and his wife Lilly Markons of Windham, CT, and Stephen Arthur Craig and his wife Mary of Effingham, NH; four grandchildren, Matthew Gerrish Craig, Timothy Amon Craig, Gerrish Theresa Craig, and Raivis Markons-Craig; three great grandchildren, Kaia Galvin Craig, Farley Gerrish Craig, and Juliet Mingxia Craig; a brother, Charles Samuel Gerrish, Jr., of Warren, MI; and, numerous nieces and nephews.

Marian asserted herself for decades as the family matriarch. Her fascination with family heritage led her to inform the provenance of two Willard Leroy Metcalf paintings of her family's house from 1917: White Lilacs at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and Kittery Mansion, at the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington, WVA; as well as a third, Lighthouse/Moonlight, which she recognized as being painted from her front yard. Her familial reverence culminated with the publication of Two If By Sea: The Prodigy of the Piscataqua River, which she authored in 2011.

Marian was a practical Mainer, a prolific photographer, an ardent feminist, a devoted patriot, and a historical preservationist. She loved travelling, boats and the sea. She excelled at golf, all manner of card games, and beamed behind the wheels of her numerous sports cars. A progressive at heart, Marian had a crisp, skeptical mind. She applauded shifting cultural norms and technological advances, embracing the computer age well into her 90's. Although eternally imperfect, her favorite dish to serve – and to be eaten - was rhubarb pie.

She was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church (South Church) in Portsmouth, the Piscataqua Chapter No. 90, Order of the Eastern Star, and the Harbourside Garden Club of Kittery Point.

Services: A celebration of her life will be held on June 30, 2016. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to: Young Organists Collaborative, c/o St. John's Episcopal Church, 100 Chapel St., Portsmouth, NH 03801.