Obituary of Marjorie Moore Kadue

Marjorie Moore Kadue. A home economist, Southern lady, lover of labor, and servant leader, Marjorie died peacefully on July 29, 2016. She was 96. For 25 years, she taught home economics in the public schools (including Jordan Junior High and Roosevelt High). She taught thousands of students how to budget, manage family relations, cook, and make clothes. Being a seamstress was one of the countless activities at which she excelled. Born September 3, 1919, Marjorie was the seventh of ten children born to Dempsey and Ida Moore. They were Southern Baptist farmers who urged their children to prize formal education. Marjorie graduated magna cum laude from the Mississippi State College for Women, and later, while a Mpls. school teacher, earned a Master's Degree in Education. She passed on her parents' passion for education. An advocate of family planning, Marjorie had her sons born four years apart'48, '52, '56to even out the cost of college tuition. During the War, Marjorie inspected munitions at the Gulf Ordnance Plant in Prairie, Mississippi. When her team rejected defective parts made by P&F Corbin Corp. (of Connecticut), Corbin sent a plant manager to investigate. His name was Arnold Kadue. Marjorie and Arnold were married in November 1945. During their final years together, she nursed him through a lingering illness; he died in their 61st year of marriage. Although Marjorie spent most her life in the North, she kept alive the best parts of her Southern heritage. She stayed close with her kin and never lost a subtle accent. She excelled at hospitality and good manners. She loved to entertain guests in her home, in a manner as lavish as her means would allow. She did the planning, the cooking, the flower arrangements, and most of the clean-up, without hired help. Her sons, meanwhile, learned to respect their elders in all stations of life and to populate sentences with appropriate "sirs," "ma'ams," "pleases," and "thank yous." Her thank-you notes followed a classic formula: a handwritten, detailed recital of how truly thoughtful her benefactor had been, and how immensely Marjorie had enjoyed the practical or beautiful gift or experience she was blessed to have come her way. Although she developed a taste for some finer things, her main delights were life-long and did not require big money. Chief among them were black coffee and French fries (served piping hot). She also fancied pecan pie, pound cake, lemon meringue pie, Russian tea cookies, and "yummie bars" (all of which she made to perfection). On the more elaborate side, she favored her own recipe for Chicken a la King, prepared from scratch and served on pastry crusts, with peas. In later years, as she relinquished control of the kitchen, she enjoyed taking guests to the Mpls. Women's Club. Marjorie's devotion to labor came from growing up in Depression-era East Central Mississippi. The home was not electrified till 1940. From an early age, she did her part for the family by picking cotton, slopping pigs, and sewing clothes. She maintained her prodigious work ethic well into her 80's, when, as a retiree working in a Dayton's warehouse (to qualify for the employee discount), she was named Dayton's Finest of the Year. And she was an avid gardener. In various Mpls. backyards, she cultivated acres of hosta, to border her sidewalks and to give to numerous friends. She gained local renown as the "hosta lady." Marjorie, if sometimes reserved, was a servant leader in her various communities. As a longtime member of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, she served several terms as ruling elder and was a major benefactor. In 1955, she helped Arnold found Precision Associates, a company that over the years has employed thousands of Minnesotans. She served, for four decades, on the company's board of directors. Meanwhile, at home, she led by instruction and example. She taught her boys the value of a dollar. Each wore hand-me-down clothes, bequeathed by an older cousin or brother. And they learned it was a sin to buy anything, especially at Dayton's, that was not on sale. She maintained a massive inventory of coupons, arranged alphabetically by subject matter, to control spending for food and household supplies. But she also told the boys how to earn a dollar: they got one for each "A" on a report card. While she loved her family unconditionally, she did so expectantly. Preceding Marjorie in death were husband Arnold, four adult brothers (Cyril, Henry, Aubrey, and Joelwho died in the War), an infant brother (Sonny Boy), and three sisters (Cecile, Kittye Sue, and Bunch). Surviving Marjorie are her sons: Richard (Diane), David (Martha), and Paul (Chris); her brother Dr. Paul Moore; her six grandchildren: Ron, Adrian, Bradley, Diana, Katie, and Laura; and her many great-grandchildren. Marjorie cited her progeny as her proudest achievements, but each often is but a pale reflection of a life well-lived in so many respects. When Marjorie and Arnold eventually moved to the suburbs, they made Faith Presbyterian Church in Minnetonka their final church home. In lieu of sending flowers, please send memorials, if so desired, to Faith Church. We will celebrate Marjorie's life with food and fellowship on her birthday September 3 at the Women's Club. If you might attend, please call (612) 770-6210, so we can make proper arrangements. Folks can begin to gather and visit at 10:00 a.m. Then the service starts at 11:00 a.m.. Marjorie liked people to be on time.