Former CMU professor dies

Edward Marquardt was the oldest of four children and grew up on a family farm in the 1930s where he learned great life lessons.

Marquardt worked as an instructor and designer of investigative training programs for the Counter Intelligence Service in the military. During his free time, he traveled across Europe and wrote about his adventures in a 1950s column in a Ludington newspaper.

Marquardt died Monday at Woodland Hospice House. His funeral services will be held at the Mount Pleasant Church of the Nazarene, 1980 S. Lincoln Road, where Marquardt was a member, at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Marquardt always believed in the power of learning. After receiving a BA from Johns Hopkins University he taught at an inner city school in Baltimore, Md. He then got called back into service as an ambassador for American schools overseas. It was during this time that he met his wife, Erna Klein. They got married in 1960.

When Marquardt returned to America, he became a principal at an elementary school in South Lyon while attending the University of Michigan to obtain his PhD. He graduated from U-M in 1967. In 1968, Marquardt became an instructor at CMU’s School of Education and Professional Development. He retired as a full professor in 1988.

Marquardt loved to write and received an award in the Annual Hopwood Competition for Creative Writing at U-M in 1967. He wrote articles about growing up on a Michigan farm that appeared in The Detroit News. Marquardt also had several short stories published.

After Marquardt retired, he taught classes on the life of Ernest Hemmingway at Elderhostel.

Marquardt was also a supporter of environmental causes. He planted hundreds of trees for the Youth Conservation Corp, was a member of the Audubon Society, and was active in the Mount Pleasant Rotary Club.

Marquardt will be buried following the services at Coomer Cemetery on Vandecar Road. Friends of Marquardt will be greeted by his family from 1 p.m. until the time of services at the church.

He is survived by his wife Erna; his daughters, Nancy and Nicole; his grandchildren, Katherine, Mark, Caroline, and Susan; his sister, Lucy Ann Knizacky; and many nieces and nephews.