“What you leave as a legacy is not what is etched in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” Anonymous

This week, thanks to the generous foresight of Marjorie Winslow, $410,000 in donations is coming to 23 nonprofits that serve the local community.

At the end of 2023, St. Columba's Episcopal Church was notified it would be responsible for distributing funds from the Marjorie M. Winslow trust. Church warden Bruce Joule commented, "One of the reasons Marjorie chose St. Columba's is because she was impressed with the community outreach the church was doing."

The extraordinary gift follows one from the same trust made at the end of 2024 for $114,250 and distributed to 14 community nonprofits.  Among these was the Woodchucks, which provides free firewood to community members in need. The nonprofit used the funds to buy a truck, which they named "Marge" in her honor.

Pam Baldwin remembers her friend Marjorie as a wonderful wife and mother, "full of energy and ideas" and particularly inspired by the FISH (Friends In Service Helping) Driving Program which was started by St. Columba's congregant Susan Wilson.

For many years, Marjorie and her husband Eliot owned and operated Argo Excursions, Sheepscot Pilots and Robinson's Wharf. She supported the community by volunteering with Meals on Wheels, St. Andrews Hospital Auxiliary and Southport Mothers Club. In March, residents of Southport voted to accept $657,000 from a trust created by Marjorie and Eliot Winslow to be used for infrastructure and recreation, as reported in The Register. The couple had one son, David, who died in 2023.

Lisa Clarke, David's life partner, remembers "Marj" as, "Very social and witty with a magnetic personality." Clarke said Marj, Eliot and David were very civic-minded, giving a lot of their time, talent and resources back to the community.

Asked about Marj's personality, Clarke shared a funny story from David about a time he traveled with his parents and some business friends to New Orleans. "While they were enjoying a dinner out at a nice restaurant, word got out that Julia Child was in the restaurant ...it was actually Marj." she told the Register. "Apparently, David said they got royal treatment and were invited for a tour of the kitchen, where they met the head chef and others. Marj never let on that she was not Julia Child, and nobody knew otherwise. That story captures her essence."

"She quietly observed people and didn't want to see people struggling, so she, Eliot and David gave back appropriately and were generous. They were humble people who took care of others." Clarke remembers a St. Andrews employee who benefited from Marj's generosity because the employee was so friendly and caring about the patients. 

The Marjorie M. Winslow trust directed St. Columba's Episcopal Church to distribute the bequests so that the church's outreach into the community would continue. Joule said the church is following her wishes.

"It is both a blessing and a huge responsibility," Joule explained. "We were all new at this and we are trying to do the best for everybody." St. Columba's congregation of more than 100 was asked to offer suggestions for nonprofits to receive funds. In this way, Joule added, the distribution represents the wishes of the entire church.

Joule said all of the suggestions fell into one of five categories. These were food security, housing, youth programs, community support, and arts/education. Members of St. Columba's vestry made the final decisions based on criteria of the greatest number of people helped and the information members had.

"The vestry always operated as a whole and all decisions were unanimous," he said.

Nonprofits notified this week of gifts from the Winslow trust are:Community Resource Council’s (CRC) Community Fridge, Veggies to Table, Community Resource Council’s (CRC) Food for Thought, Boothbay Region Meals on Wheels, Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) Seahawk Food Closet, Boothbay Region YMCA’s (BRYMCA) Grab’n Go Fridge, Boothbay V.E.T.S., Rebuilding Together Lincoln County, Camp Bishopwood, Education Boothbay, Student Health Advisory Board, Community Resource Council’s (CRC) Set for Success, Boothbay Region YMCA’s (BRYMCA) Camp Knickerbocker Scholarship Fund, Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library (BRML) Next 100 Capital Campaign, Boothbay Region Ambulance Service, The Community Center, New Hope Midcoast, Community Resource Council’s (CRC) Addiction Outreach, Boothbay Region District Nursing Association, LifeFlight of Maine, Education Boothbay, Education Boothbay, Moore Music Fund, and Boothbay Region YMCA’s (BRYMCA) Y-Arts.

Nonprofits that received funds from the Winslow trusts in 2024 are: Boothbay Region YMCA Camp K Scholarship Fund, Community Resource Council Food for Thought, Community Fridge, Boothbay Region High School Turkey Trot fun run, Boothbay Region High School Student Health Advisory Committee, Rebuilding Together, Veggies to Table, Education Boothbay, V.E.T.S., Inc, Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund, Boothbay Region YMCA healthy way snack fridge, Meals on Wheels, New Hope Midcoast, and Woodchucks (CRC).