Marcia Elizabeth Widenor

Marcia Elizabeth Widenor, 96, died March 6, 2026, at the Safe Harbor Memory Care Center in Glen Cove, New York.

She was born in Montclair New Jersey on June 25, 1929, to Olive Remington Goldman and Marcus Goldman—just five months before the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression.

Marcia grew up in Urbana Illinois, where her father taught English at the University of Illinois and her mother followed an eclectic career, which included being a radio newscaster, a teacher and a two-time Democratic Candidate for the US Congress.From her parent she inherited a love for the arts, a passion for France, and, especially from her mother, a commitment to New Deal values.

Though she lived her entire adult life in New York, Marcia always thought of herself as a Midwesterner, and this was reflected in the art she created throughout her life.

Marcia studied art at the University of Illinois, where she met her future husband, Malcolm Widenor, an electrical engineer. She transferred to Vassar College, where she finished her degree in art history. They moved to Glen Head, New York and Mac started his electrical engineering firm, North Atlantic Industries, in Westbury.

Marcia and Mac raised four children in Sea Cliff, New York; Marcus Widenor (Margaret Lathrop) of Eugene Oregon; Paul Widenor (Ginny) of Center Moriches; Doug Widenor of East Quogue, and Sarah Hogan (Bill) of Glen Cove, New York. Mac died in 2007and Marcia is survived by her three siblings Agnes Burke, Lexington Massachusetts; Polly Malcolm, Cambridge Massachusetts, and Charles Goldman, Reno Nevada. She is also survived by four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Marcia and Mac loved Sea Cliff, the small village on the north shore of Long Island,where they lived in an old Victorian house they bought in 1960. As her children began leaving home for work and school she reinvented her career, received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Adelphi University, and became a full time medical social worker and counselor. She also restarted her art work, which quickly took off in a phase of great productivity during the 1980’s and 90‘s.

Marcia worked in many different mediums, including painting, drawing, collage and paper-making. Her work was abstract, but always had a naturalistic component to it,including hand crafted materials made of paper and textiles. And the thematic focus of her work was often the Midwestern plains. She maintained studios in Long Island City and the Village of Sea Cliff, and showed her art throughout the metropolitan area. Acritic for the New York Times said of one of her pieces: 

This piece, which won the show’s most valuable prize, uses fragile paper and a delicate web of string to suggest a cave or nest from which the mysterious breeze might emanate. Although its reticent, understated elements have a traditional Oriental character, Ms. Widenor’s individuality is clearly expressed in forms that she has adapted to a personal style.

In the later part of her career, Marcia produced large art installations that often filled an entire room. Constructed of hand-made paper and textiles, they were shown at galleries in New York, Oregon, France, Iceland and South Korea. A portfolio of her art,including videos of the large installation can be seen on her website: marciawidenor.com

In addition to being a fine artist, Marcia was a great cook, and an excellent writer—participating in a Sea Cliff poetry writing workshop into her 90’s. She was along time member of the congregation at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.Marcia maintained a broad and diverse group of friends throughout her life. She was a loyal confidant and an empathetic listener. Her kindness and encouragement was felt by many.