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Marjorie Fitzherbert Tibbits

Marjorie Fitzherbert Tibbits of Sonoma passed away Aug. 28, in Auburn, at 90 years of age.

Marge was born on Jan. 1, 1921, in Wellesley, Mass., as the third and youngest child of Leroy and Marjorie Fitzherbert. She graduated from Wellesley's Dana Hall High School and Garland Junior College in Boston, Mass.

In 1943, during World War II, she met and married Arthur Harris Tibbits of Troy, N.Y. While Arthur was deployed overseas in the Navy, Marge lived with her parents in Wellesley until their first child was born. While the war continued, she lived in several naval ports until the war ended when she and her husband settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where Arthur worked as an attorney.

Arthur and Marge raised four children, first in Menlo Park, then Atherton. As a family, they enjoyed their winters skiing and their summers camping. In 1968, they built their dream home in the hills surrounding Sonoma, when Arthur moved his law practice to partner with James Kemp of Sonoma. After Arthur passed away, Marge moved into town to a home off the square where she lived for 38 years.

Marge had a passion for gardening and spent her days designing and caring for her many flowers and vegetables. She also loved her dog, usually a rescued springer spaniel. She volunteered in town for the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation as a docent at the Tuscano Hotel, for Meals on Wheels, for FISH, and at the Sonoma Visitors Center. She enjoyed traveling and spent many happy times in New Zealand, Mexico and the Pacific Islands.

Marge is survived by her four children, Fleur Freudenstein, and husband, Peter, of Round Rock, Texas; John Tibbits, of Newcastle; Tim Tibbits, and wife, Lesley, of Arroyo Grande; and Ned Tibbits, and wife, Juliee, of South Lake Tahoe. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A private family memorial will be held Saturday, Sept 17, at Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma.