Remembering Marda Gene

On January 1, 1947, local Tecumseh girl Marda Gene Duncan’s life changed forever. A cheerleader who was involved in multiple scholastic activities, Marda Gene loved to write, as shown by her position as editor of Senior Echoes, the school newspaper. She graduated from Tecumseh High School in 1946 and went on to be a student at Michigan State Normal College, now Eastern Michigan University. On New Year’s morning in 1947, Marda Gene was involved in a car accident, which left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Now a quadriplegic due to the accident, Marda Gene could no longer do many of the things she once loved.

Despite her paralysis, Marda Gene continued to write. In 1958 Tom Riordan, co-publisher and editor of The Herald, asked her to write a weekly column. The first column by Marda Gene appeared in the January 30, 1958 edition of The Tecumseh Herald.

She continued to write weekly for The Herald about the things she saw through her window. She watched birds and other various creatures go about their daily lives from her spot on the bed, which inspired the name of the column, “Thru My Window.”

Her mother, Bernice, served as her typist. At the same time she wrote for The Herald, Marda Gene also wrote for The Nature Society News in Griggsville, Ill.

During the 1960’s noted sports columnist Jim Murray, syndicated by the Los Angeles Times, interviewed Marda Gene for the newspaper The Spokesman-Review. His column featuring Marda Gene went nationwide.

As a result, she received many letters from readers who were inspired by the column. Marda Gene eventually went on to be a recipient of the Musgrove Evans Award and the State of Michigan Governor’s Award. In 1989, Ronald Ahrens of The Toledo Blade wrote a column about Marda Gene’s passion for bird watching, an activity she wrote frequently about in “Thru My Window.”

Marda Gene continued writing up until the time of her death on August 24, 1997 in Herrick Hospital at the age of 69, 20 years after her father Harry died in 1977. Her final column appeared in the August 28, 1997 edition of The Tecumseh Herald. The column was written shortly before she died, and completed a 40-year streak of writing “Thru My Window” for The Herald. Her mother passed away eight years later in 2005 at 99 years of age.

After Bernice passed away, the Lenawee Community Foundation (LCF) was named a beneficiary in her trust. The LCF Board of Directors established the Bernice, Harry & Marda Gene Duncan Scholarship to provide funding to students who desire to pursue a college education, but who face financial difficulties.

Despite the accident that paralyzed her for the majority of her life, Marda Gene led a successful career as a nature writer and columnist. Remembered as optimistic and courageous by her former colleagues, Marda Gene left a legacy that is still fondly memorialized here by those at The Tecumseh Herald.