- Date Of Birth: January 7, 1929
- Date Of Death: September 11, 2012
- State: New Mexico
Marianne Shirley Stevens was born in Freeport, Texas on January 7, 1929, the third child of Robert Kirby Shirley and Scyrine Carpenter Shirley. She passed away on September 11, 2012, in Roswell, New Mexico, surrounded by her children, Norman Lawrence Stevens of Houston, Texas, David M. Stevens of Roswell and Patricia A. Stevens of Orange County, California. Marianne was preceded in death by her mother and father, and her sister, Jane Shirley De Veaux. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Nancy D. Williams of Houston, Texas, Vonna D. Stevens of Roswell and Robert Minkin of Orange County, California. She is also survived by her brother, Robert Kirby Shirley, Jr. and his wife Ruth, of Austin, Texas, as well as her grandchildren, John Carpenter Stevens of Houston, Texas, Katherine D. Stevens of London, England, Delaina Stevens and Nikki Stevens of Austin, Texas, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Marianne was raised in Great Neck, New York where her father was a senior executive of Freeport Sulfur Company. She married Norman L. Stevens, Jr. on September 30, 1950. They both were educated at, and graduated from, Syracuse University in upstate New York, where Marianne majored in Liberal Arts with a minor in Fine Arts. Marianne never lost her affinity for the southwestern United States and she and Norm moved to Roswell courtesy of Gulf Oil with their young son Larry in 1954.
Marianne was a passionate woman. Without question her lifelong passion was antique wooden carousels which began while riding carousels as a young girl in Coney Island, New York. She bought her first wooden carousel horse in 1964 in New York City as a toy for her young children. It was badly burned and required complete restoration. That purchase and restoration birthed a passion that never left her. Over the years, as her passion grew, she bought and sold numerous complete antique carousels. At one time she was the largest collector of antique carousels in the world. Marianne led the crusade to preserve that uniquely American Art Form the Carousel. She began her preservation efforts when antique carousels were being neglected and even burned for firewood. Without her efforts this American Art Form would surely have been lost forever. She was a talented artist, wood carver and painter and used those talents to personally restore many of the carousels and their wooden animals she owned over the years. Carousels she preserved and once owned are now operating at the Childrens Creativity Museum in San Francisco, California, Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan and Peppermint Park in Roswell, New Mexico, with another in the planning stages in the TriCities area of Washington and Oregon. Wooden carousel animals she preserved and personally refurbished now grace museums and private collections around the country. In 1973, Marianne personally restored and gave to the City of Roswell the antique wooden carousel at Peppermint Park for the enjoyment of the people and children of the community she lived in for almost 60 years. She also was a board member of the Roswell Zoo, raised the money for the acquisition of the train at the Zoo and donated all of the track for the train.
Marianne was a cofounder of the National Carousel Association and the American Carousel Society, where she served as the organizations Chairman for many years. She was the guiding light in these national organizations that benefited from her knowledge and passion for the preservation of the Carousel Art Form. Marianne counts many of their members among her closest friends. Marianne also coauthored with William Manns of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the definitive work Painted Ponies: American Carousel Art, the most authoritative book on antique wooden carousels ever written. Until her death she was still actively involved in writing about antique carousels, authoring articles for numerous national publications. She was also recognized as one of the leading authorities on carousel history and value. Marianne was a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution, to which she donated multiple carousel animals to be preserved for all to enjoy. She was also a consultant to Sothebys, Bonhams and Butterfield Auction companies. The industry will, no doubt, miss her greatly.
Marianne was also passionate about other art forms and gained immense pleasure and satisfaction out of her favorite works, with which she surrounded herself. Additionally, Marianne was passionate about thoroughbred race horses and horses in general, but here in Roswell her passion was for animals without owners. She loved animals and supported the Roswell Humane Society by helping the Society acquire the land where it is currently located and raising the money to construct the building and improvements there. She loved to rescue animals.
Mariannes family would like to thank the doctors and staff of Roswell Lovelace Regional Hospital and Pecos Valley Rehabilitation Center for their compassionate care in the last stages of Mariannes life. All of those whose lives Marianne touched will miss her deeply. She enriched all of us.
