Marie Fredell

Marie Anne (Sawyer) Fredell was born December 5, 1930 to Charles A. Sawyer and Elizabeth Jost Sawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they lived until she was 22 years old. They had two houses, one during her first 11 years which was her grandmother’s former house and later when they purchased their own home. This was during the Depression, though they never wanted for food or necessities. Her “Papa” was a lawyer but didn’t do private law, working in the city attorney’s office. Her mother had a teaching certificate but as a married woman was not allowed to teach in schools.

In summer they rented out their house and went to stay at Child’s Cottage, on Lake Minnetonka. While a teenager, Marie attended a youth group with friends at a Unitarian Church. Though her family didn’t have a religious affiliation, when her Papa was told she was going to the Youth Group the next Sunday they all went to the Unitarian Church and continued going regularly from then on. In summer Marie and the Youth Group went to a Unitarian Work camp in New York. Marie loved New York, especially the theater.

Marie went to Stanford for her first year in college, but didn’t adapt well to California so she continued her education at University of Minnesota, where she graduated with a degree in statistical analysis.

While in high school she met Dick Fredell. Dick was a faithful letter writer and wrote her while she was at Stanford. He then went to Stanford, but she had returned to Minnesota by that time. They continued corresponding, and the day after they had both graduated, she married Richard James Fredell on June 20, 1952.

The next four years they lived in New York City, where they each found work, spending all their spare time seeing Broadway and off-Broadway shows, and attending the ballet. A highlight for Marie was when they saw My Fair Lady with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison.

A few years later, they moved to Berkeley, California. While there they had three sons, Douglas, born in 1959, Eric, born in 1960 and Todd, born in 1962. They moved to Alhambra, CA where Dick went to library school and got a Masters in Library Science and Marie joined a Mother’s Club, which happened to be associated with Orange Grove Meeting. That was her first association with Quakers.

Dick found a library position in St. Louis, Missouri which paid better so the family moved to Missouri in 1965. Marie got a job part-time as a student teacher, teaching English and subbed in the St. Louis schools. The public schools were divided by race, in the north were all the Black students and in the south all the White ones. It wasn’t official that these lines were drawn, but it definitely was divided this way. She taught at the St. Louis Teachers College, which wasn’t segregated and students from both sides of the city attended; for many this was their first experience being with the other race. Marie also attended the St. Louis Meeting where she became a member.

Dick loved his job in St. Louis, but their marriage fell apart. They separated and had filed for divorce when he died suddenly. Marie struggled with her part time job and her three small boys. Her sister came to stay with them for a week to give her some respite. Soon after she returned home, her sister called from Washington, DC, where she lived with her husband and three children. She had seen a large home for sale and suggested that Marie and her sons move to DC and share the home with them. Marie would take care of the children (all six) and cook while her sister and husband worked. So that is what they did.

She participated in anti-war demonstrations and attended the Unitarian Universalist Church, which was integrated. She was very interested in helping Black people in need and raised funds so Black candidates could run for office.

After some time, her sister and husband divorced and neither wanted to stay in the home, so Marie, who couldn’t afford the big house, decided to continue “communal living” and welcomed a Black Quaker family to join the household. This followed with other renters who lived with her and she continued this lifestyle for the rest of her life, always having someone else living with her. She felt this was better for the children to be with others at home besides just their mother.

She became interested in Sanskrit and wanted to learn it. She found that UC Berkeley taught a course, so she moved to Berkeley and began a two year study of Sanskrit. She attended Berkeley Friends Meeting and eventually moved to nearby Albany, CA. She transferred her membership from St. Louis Friends Meeting to Berkeley Friends Meeting in June 1994. She held many roles in Berkeley Friends Meeting, including serving on the Nominating, Long-Range Planning, Adult Education, and Outreach and Nurture Committees. She also served the wider Quaker community. She was a regular attender of College Park Quarterly Meeting and Pacific Yearly Meeting, and served as a member of PacYM’s Nominating Committee. She participated in the non-theist community at Friends General Conference Gathering and led and co-led workshops on non-theist topics.

Marie was an avid potter and sold her wares to raise funds for the renovation of the Berkeley Friends Meetinghouse, where much of her pottery remains in the kitchen. She also loved to travel and went on many tours, individual trips and trips with friends. The first was to India, where she lived in an ashram. Later she went to Egypt, Japan, France and Italy.

Marie passed on June 8, 2022 and is survived by her sons, Douglas, Eric and Todd, two step daughters, Darlene (Doug) and Barbara (Eric), and four grandchildren - Lucy, Joseph, Cassandra (Eric and Barbara’s children) and Nicholas (Todd’s child). A Memorial Meeting will be held at Berkeley Friends Meetinghouse on June 17, 2023.