Marcella Gast Schalon

“Marcie” Gast Schalon was already a petite force to be reckoned with at her birth on April 24, 1926 in St. Joseph to William C. and Martha (Heyn) Gast. Upon entering Kindergarten at Immanuel Lutheran School in Bridgman, she was assessed as especially bright and skipped two grades, finishing the year as a second-grader. She graduated Bridgman High School at age 16 and enrolled at (then) Michigan State College. After receiving her B.A. in Social Work, Marcie continued at MSC and earned a Master’s Degree at age 21. While at MSC, she was  a member of MSC’s first female cheerleading squad and was initiated into Alpha Gamma Delta, a women’s social fraternity in 1943. During the 1940’s, she spent many weekend evenings swing dancing at the Shadowland and Crystal Palace ballrooms and appearing in benefit performances at Veteran’s hospitals. Accomplished local golfer Ed Schalon became attracted to her and—while not an accomplished swing dancer himself – employed the ingenious strategy of first befriending Marcie’s parents through a mutual golf interest. Marcie later said she took up the game “in self-defense!” After marrying on September 16, 1950, Marcie and Ed began a wonderful life together that spanned 58 years. While raising their two children in St. Joseph, Marcie spent nearly 20 years as a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church Senior Choir and served in many volunteer roles at the church and school. She was also a member of Monday Musical, several bridge clubs, and served as President of Women’s Service League. Throughout these years, Marcie and Ed shared many pleasurable rounds of golf and social times with friends at Berrien Hills and Point O’Woods Country Clubs. They later moved to Grand Haven while Ed was employed at Sealed Power in Muskegon and expanded their social circle at the Muskegon and Spring Lake Country Clubs. In retirement they enjoyed spending winters in the company of fellow Michigan snowbirds and new friends at The Wilderness Golf and Country Club in Naples, FL. A lifelong Spartan, Marcie and brother Warren gifted the MSU Eli Broad College of Business with the William C. and Martha H. Gast Business Library Endowment, honoring their father (who attended Michigan Agricultural College) and creating the largest branch in MSU’s Library System. In 2003, she helped launch MSU’s School of Social Work pioneer program, “Chance at Childhood Social Work and Law Clinic,” for cross-training child welfare professionals to serve abused and neglected children. Marcie established the Marcella Gast Schalon Scholarship at the MSU College of Social Science which provides annual scholarships to undergraduate students in the School of Social Work from Berrien County. Most recently Marcie funded the Percussion Rehearsal Hall planned for the new MSU College of Music Pavilion. In 2004 she was the recipient of MSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2010 the Outstanding Philanthropist Award. By creating the Schalon Foundation in 1997, Marcie and Ed were equipped to support the missions of many local and regional cultural, educational, recreational, and faith-based organizations. The couple directed Foundation resources to the annual Summer Music Series for the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra along with funding for the Krasl Art Center, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Opera Grand Rapids, among many others. Local community support included the Froggy Park fountain restoration, a new ladder fire truck to be shared between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, and part of the initial funding for Lakeland’s Outpatient Medical Center. One of Marcie’s proudest legacies is the return of a carousel to St. Joseph. From 1891 to 1971, the Silver Beach Amusement Park attracted all ages to its marvelous carousel. Marcie supported a local group of enthusiasts focused on bringing the original carousel home. She worked diligently with Ed, Warren and his wife D. Lou Gast to acquire the property below the bluff. Marcie then became a catalyst for the “Bluffside Project,” now known as the Silver Beach Center and Whirlpool Centennial Park. This extraordinary community asset represents the culmination of a unique public-private-corporate partnership to develop a complex to house the new Silver Beach Carousel, Shadowland Ballroom, and Curious Kids’ Discovery Zone – along with the Whirlpool Compass Fountain and the adjacent community event green space. All the property was then given to the City of St. Joseph by the families and Whirlpool Corporation as a recreational, cultural and educational legacy for residents and visitors. Marcie was preceded in death by her husband Ed, parents Bill and Martha, and brother Warren E. Gast. Her inestimable loss is mourned by daughter Suz Schalon, son Scott (Lisa) Schalon, granddaughters Julie Clark (Josh) and Kelsey Broome, great grandchildren Rylee, Savannah and Briella Broome and Liam Clark, and sister-in-law D. Lou Gast. She also leaves many wonderful memories in the hearts of the extended Backus, Gast, Heyn, and Schalon families. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 25, at the Shadowland Ballroom in the Silver Beach Center at 333 Broad Street, St. Joseph, MI, from 5:00-8:30 pm. Additional parking for visitation available at Silver Beach County Park. Please inform the beach attendant you are with the Schalon visitation. Her Celebration of Life service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church at Court and Market Streets, St. Joseph, MI, on Thursday, July 26, at 11:00 am with special pre-service music at 10:30 am. A luncheon for family and friends in Trinity’s Fellowship Hall will immediately follow the service. Private family internment services will be held at North Shore Memory Gardens. In lieu of sending flowers to her home or to the visitation, the family respectfully requests consideration of a donation to Trinity Lutheran Church; Child and Family Services of Southwestern Michigan; or the Silver Beach Carousel Endowment Fund at Berrien Community Foundation. Condolences and memories may be shared online at www.starks-menchinger.com. The family wishes to express their gratitude to James Busby for his 15 years of invaluable aid to both Marcie and Ed and his many kindnesses. Further appreciation is directed to the medical staffs of both Lakeland Health Care and Grand Rapids’ Spectrum Meijer Heart Center, along with Lakeland’s Caring Circle Hospice staff and wonderful care givers.