Marjorie Gibbon Masek died on Dec. 12 at her home in Vineyard Haven with her family gathered at her bedside, supported by Island Hospice nurse Dyan Espindle. She was 70. Dyan and Marjorie became close friends over a year of palliative care, and Dyan assisted Marjorie to be in a “peaceful state of grace” to the end. James Masek, an artist, carpenter and Marjorie’s husband of 26 years, was her primary caregiver during her long, chronic illness.

Both Marjorie’s parents and older brother, John Gibbon, predeceased her.

Marjorie was born in Philadelphia, Pa., where her father, Dr. John Gibbon, was a prominent physician and dean of the Jefferson College of Medicine. Dr. Gibbon, with the help of Maly Gibbon, Marjorie’s mother, pioneered the invention of the first heart-lung machine.

Marjorie’s maternal grandfather was the renowned oil portrait painter Charles Hopkinson of Manchester and Beacon Hill. As a girl, Marjorie attended the Miquan School in Media, Pa., where she first experienced a love for a free and open learning style.

Marjorie was pleased to have graduated from the Putney School in Putney, Vt., class of 1958, where she excelled in both fine arts and modern dance.

She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for two and a half years. There she met her first husband, oil painter and fellow student, Robert Shepard. They settled in Acworth, N.H., and were married for 13 years.

As an art teacher, Marjorie volunteered her time freely to teach young people the creative processes in the arts and modern dance. She taught in the Acworth, N.H. Free School, a forerunner of a present day charter school. Maggie taught children in her home studio; one former student recently graduated from college in the fine arts.

Marjorie sold her watercolor paintings and linoleum prints on Island. She left a large body of artwork, including a large variety of note cards, which were also sold. She exhibited her work in many Island art shows since settling here in 1984.

She attended the Society of Friends Meeting from a young age.

She is survived by her husband, James Masek; sons, Nathan Shepard and Tobias Shepard; stepson Jesse Masek, (all four live on the Island); and her stepdaughter, Tanya Carroway. She also leaves two sisters, Mary Clarke of Vineyard Haven and Gloucester, and Alice Saltzman of Costa Mesa, Ca.; and many nephews and nieces through her brother’s and sister’s families, many of whom live on the Island.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 19, in the chapel of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs at 6 p.m., with the Rev. Roger Spinney, grief counselor to Island Hospice and former pastor to the Baptist Church in Vineyard Haven, officiating.

Donations in her memory may be made to Island Hospice and Palliative Care at Island Hospice, P.O. Box 4188, V.H., MA 02568 with Marjorie’s name listed on the memo line of the check. Addressed envelopes will also be provided at the service.