Marion B. Rowan, 83, reorganized library, ran cafeteria at St. Mary School

Marion B. Rowan, 83, of Gloucester City, who helped reorganize the St. Mary School's library in the late 1960s and went on to manage the school's cafeteria for many years, died Friday, Nov. 19, of complications from a leg injury and a preexisting heart condition at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.

As a member of St. Mary School's Parent-Teacher Association in the late 1960s, Mrs. Rowan took a library cataloging course and started volunteering at the school's library.

Mrs. Rowan and the PTA president at the time, Regina Pyrah, reorganized the school's library to follow a specific filing system, Pyrah said. The women worked in the library for several years together.

"We got it to run more efficiently," Pyrah said.

In the 1970s, Mrs. Rowan became the school's cafeteria manager, in charge of the free-lunch program and other school-nutrition initiatives, said her son Patrick Rowan Jr.

Mrs. Rowan retired from St. Mary School in 2001, but continued to be involved in the parish, serving as a eucharistic minister and as a member of the Altar and Rosary Societies, her family said.

She also was involved in various community projects.

"She would do whatever you asked her to do," Pyrah said. "She was very easy to work with."

Marion B. Bignell was a lifelong resident of Gloucester City, graduating from Gloucester Catholic High School in 1944.

In 1947, she married fellow Gloucester City native Patrick J. Rowan.

For many years, Mrs. Rowan served on the Gloucester Catholic High School and Diocese of Camden parent-teacher associations.

In addition to her son, Mrs. Rowan is survived by another son, Thomas; daughters Kathleen Rowan and Maryann Hook; one granddaughter; and a sister. Her husband died in 2003.

A Funeral Mass was said Monday, Nov. 22, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Gloucester City. Interment was in New St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr.