Marjorie (Jones) Preston Emerson passed away peacefully Aug. 9 in Port St. Lucie, Florida at the age of 97 under the devoted care of the staff of Treasure Coast Hospice and The Gardens at Port St. Lucie where she had been a resident and unofficial fashion consultant since 2013.
Marjorie was born June 22, 1922 in Long Branch to Mary and Fredrick Jones. She was an only child raised in a loving environment of neighbors, friends and a large extended family in Red Bank. “Little Margie Jones” was truly the apple of her parents’ eye…cute, talented and smart. She graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School and attended Immaculata College in Pennsylvania as a music major but soon realized that the opportunity to join the advertising world in Manhattan was way more exciting than the nuns and classes in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
In 1949, Marjorie married Charles “Bud” Preston, a handsome young lawyer and the grandson of her parents’ next door neighbor. Family continued to be central in their lives as they raised two daughters in Fair Haven and Rumson with a five-year stint in San Francisco in the 60s. It was there that Marjorie traded her role of stay-at-home mom and Junior Leaguer for fashion consultant to some of the premier retailers in San Francisco. She also fulfilled her dream of being on stage, starring in several professional productions including the lead in “Pal Joey.”
After Marjorie and Bud returned to New Jersey, she opened The Angelic Tiger, aka The Tiger, in Rumson, which quickly became the premier boutique in Monmouth County. The Tiger was truly the personification of Marjorie with stylish clothes in an old Victorian and a cast of characters that rivaled “Designing Women.”
After Bud’s passing in 1991, The Tiger, her friends and her grandchildren were her life until she met Robert “Bob” Emerson, a widower who was immediately taken with Marjorie’s charm, wit and beauty. They married in 1993 after which Marjorie sold The Tiger to enjoy her exciting new life with Bob in New Jersey and Florida until Bob’s passing in 2013.
Marjorie is survived by her daughters, Dr. Allyson Preston of Marblehead, Masachusetts and Ricky Preston of Lynn, Massachusetts; her son-in-law Dan St. George; her grandchildren, Kara Preston and Katie, Chris, Peter (Bianca), Jeff (Katie Martin) St. George; and two great-grandchildren, Emma and Charlotte St. George.
A memorial event will be held at a later date.
For now, in remembrance of Marjorie, please raise a glass to a woman who left everyone “bewitched, bothered and bewildered.”
