Happy 100th Birthday, Mrs. Marian T. Logan ’57

Mrs. Marian T. Logan was born on July 7, 1921, and was raised in Roseland, Virginia, a rural community of Nelson County. She is one of eight siblings whose parents were deacons in the church, and they instilled core values of education, work ethic, and family in their children. Marian graduated 11^th grade from Oak Hill School and then migrated to Brooklyn, NY to live with extended family where she completed 12^th grade from Girls High School.

Working as a stenographer in Brooklyn and later serving in the office pool in the Army ODB in Newark, NJ during WWII enabled her to strengthen and prepare herself for the civilian workplace. She met and later married Richard Thornhilll and they made their home in Greensboro, NC where he taught Botany and Biology at A.&T. College. She would lose him within a few short years to his fatal battle with chronic kidney disease.  Widowed with four little girls and armed with a “village family,“ she made the life-changing decision to remain in Greensboro and begin her legacy of faith, resilience, and fortitude.  She enrolled in college at A.&T. to pursue her degree in business education.

 As it turned out, returning to college was the most monumental, life-changing decision she has ever made. Marian made the honor roll each semester and became active members of the Pi Omega Pi Honorary Business Society, the campus choir, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She lived in the dormitory for married students where her children and close relatives would visit quarterly. Her newfound academic and cultural environment at A.&T. was her beginning quest for a better life for her family.

Blessed with love, marriage, and family once again, Marian graduated and married Quinton Logan, her devoted husband of thirty-one years. Together they made it possible for her to embark upon a notable career path at (now N.C. A&T State University) where she worked and retired in 1983 after twenty-six years of service.  She started in 1957 as a staff assistant in the Registrar’s Office, twelve years as departmental secretary to the School of Nursing, followed by eleven years as Travel Counselor with the Office of Admissions.

Mrs. Logan’s lifelong (sixty-two years) of dedicated service and membership at Providence Baptist Church where she is a Golden Award Honoree (2017) bears the cornerstone for her productive, blessed life. Throughout her faith journey at Providence, she has been active with The Alert Circle, Women’s Missionary Society, Women’s Day Chairperson, Community Service Guild, Fashion Show Coordinator, and Adult Sunday School.  Her life membership with her local Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority family is also another important part of her blessed life.

She considers her children and family as her most blessed milestones to her legacy because of the emphasis she has always placed on goal-setting, education, and achievement. She is known around her church and Dudley Heights community for her strong independence and vigor, her wit and sense of humor, her meticulous stylish dress, and her snazzy shoes, to say the least.  Mrs. Logan has six children, eight grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren who all show up with love and support for her every whim and desire!!  

Her previous travel pursuits have been somewhat limited due to the pandemic, but she continues to keep up with her virtual church services, her political news watching, her newspaper reading, the A.&T.  Magazine, and her magazine puzzle solving. Oh, … and she still does not miss a beat when it comes to her signature fashion statements! 

Mrs. Logan shared with the Office of Alumni Relations that 100 years of life has taught her patience, flexibility and perseverance.

“Today is not tomorrow, if you don’t have your desire today, just wait for the next day.” ~ Mrs. Marian T. Logan

Story written by daughter, Brenda Holmes ’71