Published in East Bay Times on Nov. 1, 2020.
Marsha Mak
April 1953 – October 2020
Resident of San Ramon, CA
Marsha Mak was born to Benjamin and Luella Mak and big sister, Linda. From a young age, she was a live wire with a love of life and a dose of mischievousness. Proud to be born and brought up in Oakland, she served as Student Body President during her senior year at Oakland High School. Marsha majored in Home Economics at UC Davis and completed her Master’s in Education at Harvard. She loved working as a teacher and school counselor for 36 years, spending over 30 years at Venture School. At Venture, she enjoyed working one-on-one with students whose educational needs fell outside of traditional schooling. She always appreciated people who marched to the beat of their own drum and followed unique paths to success. After retirement, Marsha enjoyed living 3-6 months at a time in new cities, pursuing meetup groups, French classes, and volunteer opportunities, forming a new community wherever she went. Her destinations included Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans, Asheville, Portland, Marseille, and Montreal. A lifelong lover of all things Disney, she frequently visited Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Marsha adopted Talkeetna, Alaska, as her second home in 1996, when she moved there with her daughter Rachel for a school year. This year, she completed her dream of building a home in her beloved Talkeetna, where she enjoyed the view of the trees and the trains, and the company of Rachel and her wonderful community of friends. Marsha is survived by daughter Rachel Mak-McCully (Olivier), sister Linda Mak (Tom), niece Kate Weisbly (Zac), nephew Matt Smith, and grandnieces Elizabeth and Victoria Weisbly, as well as countless friends around the world, including many who affectionately call her Mama Mak. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Talkeetna radio station KTNA (ktna.org/donate/) or to the Jessica Stevens Community Foundation (jessicastevenscf.org/memorial-contributions/).
