MIDDLEBURY — Marjorie Robbins died quietly at home Oct. 15, 2026, with her dear friend Susannah Baker by her side. Born Jan. 4, 1935, in New York City, the only child of Merton Covey Robbins and Louise Warns, Marjorie lived in Greenwich Village and attended Friends Seminary through 10th grade. The family moved to Brattleboro, Vt., where Marjorie completed high school and then attended Middlebury College.
A graduate of the Middlebury College Class of 1956, Marjorie received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. New York City beckoned her back, where she worked for an admiralty lawyer and then in advertising. While in NYC, Marjorie met Thomas W. Hurt; they married seven months later in Brattleboro, Vt., in 1959. The couple moved to Philadelphia, Pa., where they welcomed their only child, Amanda Robbins Hurt in 1961. Marjorie continued her career in advertising until she divorced, remarried and moved with her second husband and daughter to Washington, D.C.
Marjorie began riding horses at the Rock Creek Park Horse Center and eventually owned and showed two horses. While in D.C. in the 1970s, she worked on the campaign to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and volunteered at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Marjorie moved independently to Middlebury, Vt., in 1982. Embracing her life in Middlebury, Marjorie attended the Middlebury College Italian Summer School in 1999, volunteered at the Sheldon Museum in the archives, worked at the Special Collections of the Middlebury College Library and at the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Her interests led her to volunteer on an archaeological dig at Mount Independence, where she met her long-term partner Dennis Howe of Concord, N.H.
Marjorie enjoyed reading and researching, traveling and learning, writing brilliant letters and engaging in meaningful conversations. She was an elegant woman who cherished her good friends.
Marjorie is survived by her daughter, Amanda Hurt Fegley (Andrew Fegley); grandson, Alexander W. Fegley (Elizabeth Bond); granddaughter, Aurora P. Hall (Alexander J.D. Hall); and two great-grandsons.
Family and friends will celebrate Marjorie’s life privately.◊
