The Heart of the Foundation

Incorporated in 2017, this non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation is established and named in memory of Mrs. Elsie B. Marrow (1922-2016). Mrs. Marrow was a life-long educator in the Isle of Wight County School System of Virginia. She taught in segregated and integrated schools in rural Virginia, namely Georgia Tyler and Windsor Elementary Schools, from the late 1940s through the late 1980s. She graduated in 1941 from the Isle of Wight Training School and in 1948 from Fayetteville State Teaching College.  As a proud alumnus, she often shared how her mother made her leave home for college. Happily, she soon found it to be a supportive community. She stressed the difference it made in her life.     

Despite having no biological children, Mrs. Marrow’s legacy is firmly entrenched in the history of the Blount, Herring and Langhorne families and Brown’s AME Church in Smithfield, Virginia. Within her community and church, she inspired many to set goals and pursue their dreams. Known as Cousin Elsie throughout her family, she inspired, encouraged, and motivated many young people.  She demonstrated this by generously providing money, transportation and her time. Soft-spoken and reserved, she avoided the spotlight and used every encounter as an opportunity to encourage and teach. Cousin Elsie had a soft spot for young people interested in education, easily sharing memories and tidbits from her past. She even opened her home to board teachers from out of town.  Family and friends fondly remember her as a caring individual who always sought to help and attributed her own success to those who helped her. She modeled the ideal of “paying it forward.”      

We, the Elsie Marrow Legacy Foundation, seek to continue her legacy by supporting and encouraging young people to pursue careers in education.  Our core values of education, civic engagement and caring arise from the way that Mrs. Marrow lived her life.