Marion Goslau O’Neill, age 102, of Golden, Colorado passed away April 15.
A longtime resident of Shrewsbury and Red Bank, Marion moved from Shadow Lake Village in 2003 at age 87 to independent living in Golden, Colorado to enjoy her family there and the Rocky Mountains. Since 1970 she had visited many times, experiencing cross country skiing, snowmobiling, four wheeling, horseback riding and hitting a golf ball at 9,000 feet.
As a single mother and divorcée during World War II, Marion worked in New York City before she met and married Bill Goslau in 1946. A widower, Bill adopted her son Billy. Bill’s daughter Nancy and Marion bonded as sisters. Together Marion and Nancy pursued a lifelong interest in travelling. Unfortunately, Bill passed away from cancer in 1967, leaving Marion a widow at 51. As fate would have it, Marion and Bill had always been active in the Red Bank Elks. Thus, in 1975 she married family friend and fellow Elk Tom O’Neill (Elk of the Year ’70-’71). They spent many happy years together until his untimely passing in 1985. She moved to Shadow Lake shortly thereafter and began her passion for golf at age 70.
Marion’s love of travel took her to Italy for the birth of her first grandson in 1967. Thirty-one years later in 1998 she flew to South Korea for his wedding to one of that nation’s TV stars, thoroughly enjoying the attention and respect for age that is so revered in Asia. Marion also never met a cruise she didn’t like, transiting the Panama Canal more than once and exploring Europe, Ireland, England, St. Petersburg, Russia and the Caribbean. Her good friend Dan Dorn always told her, “Marion, you gotta keep moving,” and indeed she did.
Lovingly known as “GG,” her passing on April 15 marked the end of a life well lived. Her ashes will return to New Jersey for interment next to Bill Goslau and their son Tommy who passed away at age 6. Burial will be Sept. 21 at Christ Church in Shrewsbury with friends and family in attendance.
She is survived by her son Bill and his wife Marianna; their three children Tom, Tavi and Eric and their spouses; and six great-grandchildren; as well as Nancy and her sons, Wyatt and Mark, and their extended family in Houston, Texas.
In bidding farewell and remembrance, Marion always enjoyed a martini in the evening coupled with her favorite saying: “Let the harm of the day go with it!” A long life indeed.
