Marianne Kingsbury Eleuterio passed away on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at the age of 95. The daughter of Marion S. Orr and Manning Kingsbury, Marianne was born in 1929, in Cassopolis, Michigan. After attending a one-room school house in rural Michigan for her primary school education, Marianne earned a scholarship to attend Michigan State University. There, in December 1950, she received a BS with high honors in biology. She also had the great fortune to meet her future husband, Herbert S. Eleuterio, a Ph.D. candidate in physical organic chemistry.
Marianne and Herb married in Michigan in June, 1951. A year later, their daughter Susan was born. The young family left Michigan for Herb’s brief post-doc year at Ohio State University during which daughter Kathi was born. In 1954, Marianne and Herb moved to Wilmington, Delaware where Herb worked for the DuPont Company from 1954 through 1992.
During the early years in Wilmington, Marianne gave birth to Tom, Mary Beth and John. Never happy to have too little to do, Marianne joined a number of clubs including a book group, the Genesians (a church-related acting group), a gourmet club and was a Cub Scout den mother. After John was born, Marianne re-joined the work force and ultimately matriculated at the University of Delaware where she earned a Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Molecular Biology and Genetics in 1971.
During her time as a doctoral student, Marianne had her sixth child, Dan, but did not interrupt her studies! Shortly after Dan was born, she returned to class, and apologized to her professor for missing a quiz because she was giving birth, to which the professor replied sarcastically: “Yeah, sure.” After earning her doctorate, Marianne furthered her education as a post-doctoral student at Temple University’s School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA from 1971 to 1972 and at the University of Delaware from 1972 to 1973.
In 1973, Marianne joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Biology Department at West Chester (Pennsylvania) University. She was an associate professor from 1976 to 1988 and became a professor in 1988. Marianne retired from West Chester University in 1998 after which she worked at the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology at the National University of Singapore, joining Herb in his post-retirement work as a professor. In her professional life, Marianne was a member of the American Society for Microbiology, American Society of Human Genetics, Sigma XI, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Sigma and a Wall of Fame honoree at the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She published a number of scholarly papers including as a contributor to the Catalog of Chromosomal Variants and Anomalies (1984). She was a lecturer at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute after completing her work in Singapore.
In 2016, Herb and Marianne moved from their home of nearly 60 years in Carrcroft to Foulk Manor North. Marianne walked through Talley Day Park nearly every day after moving to Foulk Manor. She became affectionately known to the dogs in the Talley Day Dog Park as the “treat lady” as she always had a little something for her furry friends. The dogs’ affection for her sustained her for a number of years as she was unable to have a dog of her own, something she missed dearly. Marianne was generous to a fault, determined, a devout Catholic and steadfast, proud Democrat.
In addition to her parents and brother, Tom, Marianne was pre-deceased by her husband of 71 years, Herb in 2022. She is survived by her six children: Susan Eleuterio (Tom Sourlis), Kathi Karsnitz (Craig Karsnitz), Tom Eleuterio, Mary Beth Ireland (Chuck Ireland), John Eleuterio, Dan Eleuterio, 16 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces and nephews. Marianne was and her family is grateful for the care and love from her Bayada caregivers, particularly Maureen Jubity and Adwoa Boahemaa, and the care and attention Marianne received from Delaware Hospice in her final months. The family would also like to convey its profound gratitude to Jeffrey M. Guarino, MD and his staff for the tireless, thoughtful, thorough, patient and professional care given to both Marianne and Herb. Dr. Guarino is a true credit to his profession.
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