Marion C. Schickel

Marion C. Schickel is survived by twelve of her children: Marion (Nimr) Ibrahim, Brooklyn, NY; William (Trina) Schickel, Dryden; Catherine (Mark) Saur, Hartford, CT; Thomas (Youngmi) Schickel, Ithaca; Agnes (John) Finn, Los Alamos, NM; Norbert (Benitta) Schickel III, Charlotte, NC; Sarto (Sunhee Lee) Schickel, Philadelphia; Bruno (Amy Dickinson) Schickel, Dryden; Ruth Schickel, Washington, D.C; Jacques Schickel, Dryden; Abraham (Kathy) Schickel, Natick, MA; and Cecilia (Susan Hight) Schickel, Philadelphia; 40 grandchildren and 18 great grand children. She is predeceased by her son Leo, who died in 2011 and by her sisters Pauline Powers, Anna Lameraner, and Frances Cockrell. She is survived by her brother Prentice “Bud” Cockrell (Natalie), 95, who lives in East Greenwich RI, and by many nieces and nephews.

She grew up in a large household. Her parents opened their home to others during the Depression and then to Seabees and Navy wives needing housing during World War II.



A graduate of Lincoln School, Providence, RI and Wheelock College, Boston, Marnie taught kindergarten in Pine Orchard, CT. In 1942, while playing tennis at courts on Love Lane, she met her husband-to-be, Lt. Norbert Henry Schickel, Jr., a naval aviator from Ithaca, New York. They married 5 months later and had 13 children – 5 girls and 8 boys. Her husband Norbert died in 1994 after 52 years of marriage yet their family continued to grow and today includes 40 grand children and 18 great grandchildren.



After World War II, rooted in their faith and inspired by Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement to create a “house of hospitality”, the couple settled in Dryden, New York. In search of a simple life away from the war and with a desire to live on the land, they built a home for their growing family and named it Maryhill Farm in devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary. It was the start of a remarkable and extraordinary journey of faith, love, family and more hard work than most can imagine today.



Marnie was a true pioneer. Long before anyone was “home-schooling” she home schooled all of her children as well as the neighboring Viglietta clan - dear friends who also had 13 children. At the request of the local public school, she also welcomed a few children who then thrived under her mentoring and instruction! In 6th grade most of the children went off to St. Mary’s School in Cortland and the younger ones later attended Dryden School.



Marnie dedicated her life to raising her children and building a home. By the numbers – she changed thousands of diapers and put well over 70,000 meals on the table. The numbers are only part of the story. Her generous spirit is what endures. Marnie was known far and wide for her amazing hospitality and patience. At meal time there was always room for one more, or two or three more. She would simply add more water to the orange juice, more spaghetti to the pot, or slice more bread for the table. She welcomed friends and strangers alike into her home. Her children cannot remember a time when it was just their family since there were always other people living at the home - from wayward souls seeking refuge to international students from places all over the world, from hired hands who milked the cows to children of friends who wanted a respite from the city streets or suburban enclaves. They came in the hundreds and found a home with Marnie – who they affectionately called “Mom” and “Grannie”. She would delight them with her engaging, endless stories describing people and places in incredible and vibrant detail. This love of people and cultures from around the world has inspired her children and grandchildren to follow in her footsteps. Family members now come from China, Japan and Korea, Cuba, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia, Nigeria and Ghana, Palestine and Morocco.



Marnie was adventurous. Knowing nothing about farming and with few resources, she and her husband took on the challenges of plowing and planting fields, baling hay and milking cows. Arriving in Dryden, they had one cow and a steel wheel tractor, a recently fire damaged home and three children in tow. They built the 225 acre farm into a 35 head dairy operation. Marnie supported her husband in the farming effort until 1961 when he took over his father’s real estate management business and then continued to support her children in their work to actively farm until 1991.



Her faith was a driving force in her daily life. In the 1940s, actively seeking to form a Catholic community, Marnie and Norbert helped to found the Dryden Catholic Mission. It began with Sunday Mass in an upper room over a restaurant at the four corners in the village and eventually becoming Holy Cross Church in Freeville.



For a 1950 Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome, Marnie, her husband Norbert, their 3 oldest children, and friends Marion and Ben Viglietta and Dan Nabor embarked on a freight ship for a wintry Atlantic crossing. Landing in Antwerp, Belgium, they walked, hitchhiked, and trained to Rome where they had an audience with Pope Pius XII. Enroute, they relied on the hospitality of strangers for food and shelter. In her much later years, Marnie would continue this hospitality and always place an extra bed in her own room for children and grandchildren when space ran out elsewhere!



When her husband Norbert was asked to run for the new Tompkins County Board of Representatives, he suggested his wife, Marnie. Elected in 1969, she was the first woman to serve in this position. One of Marnie’s proudest accomplishments was the Board’s founding of Tompkins Cortland Community College.



As a young child Marnie grew vegetables and flowers, a love for gardening that was life-long. When her husband developed the Geneva On The Lake resort in Geneva, NY, Marnie’s hospitality included, for over 25 years, her graceful and elegant arrangements of the flowers she grew for the inn’s public rooms and suites. She delighted in hosting the inn’s Friday evening wine and cheese reception where guests were put quickly at ease by her innate sociability and authentic and genuine interest in their lives.



Marion C. Schickel is survived by twelve of her children: Marion (Nimr) Ibrahim, Brooklyn, NY; William (Trina) Schickel, Dryden; Catherine (Mark) Saur, Hartford, CT; Thomas (Youngmi) Schickel, Ithaca; Agnes (John) Finn, Los Alamos, NM; Norbert (Benitta) Schickel III, Charlotte, NC; Sarto (Sunhee Lee) Schickel, Philadelphia; Bruno (Amy Dickinson) Schickel, Dryden; Ruth Schickel, Washington, D.C; Jacques Schickel, Dryden; Abraham (Kathy) Schickel, Natick, MA; and Cecilia (Susan Hight) Schickel, Philadelphia; 40 grandchildren and 18 great grand children. She is predeceased by her son Leo, who died in 2011 and by her sisters Pauline Powers, Anna Lameraner, and Frances Cockrell. She is survived by her brother Prentice “Bud” Cockrell (Natalie), 95, who lives in East Greenwich RI, and by many nieces and nephews.



Friends are invited to the wake at Maryhill Farm, 85 Ferguson Road, Dryden, NY 13053 on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM and 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, July 31 at 10:00 AM at Holy Cross Church, 375 George Rd., Freeville, NY 13068.

Marion Cockrell Schickel, 93, died peacefully surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in the early morning hours of July 26, 2013 at Maryhill Farm in Dryden, her family home since 1946.

Marion, known as Marnie, was born in Warwick, RI on May 4, 1920. She was the daughter of Pauline Chase and Henry Ewing Cockrell of East Greenwich, RI. and was named after her grandfather, US Senator Francis Marion Cockrell of Missouri.