Obituary for Marigale Compton
Marigale Compton passed away under hospice care in Tucson, Ariz., after a series of strokes. Marigale was born on Oct. 17, 1938, to Truman J. Mohr and Virginia Mohr, in Cincinnati, Ohio, then spent a lifetime spelling out her name for people. As a child she was quick-witted with a sense of adventure. At 16, she and six friends bicycled 900 miles through New England and Canada. The Burlington paper announced, “Girls Make Sissies of Local He-Men.” Very 1950s. She was an A student at Walnut Hills High School, where she met and dated William Campbell Compton. She attended Wooster College, and the University of Cincinnati. Her undergraduate studies included a year abroad in Vienna. She had somehow confused Vienna with Venice, and was surprised to find no canals or gondoliers. She was mostly happy to get out of Ohio. She learned German, and crossed the Alps on a Vespa during the winter. She married Bill Compton and spent 1964-1966 in Kotzebue raising two infant sons, while Bill worked for the Indian Health Service. During the long Arctic winters Marigale assembled a Heathkit electronic organ and taught herself to play. Daughter Cathy was born in 1967, during Bill’s residency training in Ohio. The family settled in Anchorage in 1969. In 1976, while waiting to see whether her husband would survive a flight from Alaska to Hawaii in a single engine plane, she decided she should have her own career. She became a commercial real estate broker and certified financial planner. Throughout her career she encouraged and helped women to pursue financial independence. Marigale became a world traveler, accumulating an international “art” collection. She developed a side hustle, smuggling jewelry in cold cream, and other contraband in her luggage beneath her underwear. It seemed that customs agents were uninterested in rooting through a white-haired lady’s unmentionables. Her closest brush with the law occurred while returning from Peru, when an airport drug-sniffing dog developed an interest in her coca leaf stash. She could move quickly when required. Bilateral frontal brain tumors can cause impulsive behavior. Marigale’s were diagnosed in 2005, when she traded in her SUV for a Buick sedan after watching a Tiger Woods commercial. She later suggested that the Buick dealership should offer CAT scans prior to purchase. Her last years were spent in Arizona, to be close to her daughter Cathy and son Chris. She enjoyed returning to Anchorage to see her many friends and beat them at bridge. She was loved by many for her caring spirit, sense of humor and sense of adventure. She is preceded in death by her parents; and sister, Nancy. She is survived by her children, Christopher (Lori) Compton of Glendale, Ariz., Steven (Karen) Compton of Anchorage, Cathleen (Frank) von Hippel of Tucson; ex-husband, William (Paulette) Compton; five grandchildren; and four stepgrand-, stepgreat-grand and stepgreat-great grands. A celebration of life will be arranged after the Covid pandemic settles down.
Posted in on October 4, 2021.
