Meeting One Another: Marjorie Thatcher,  North Vancouver, British Columbia

18 Jan Meeting One Another: Marjorie Thatcher,  North Vancouver, British Columbia

Marjorie’s story is one of people – constellations of anthroposophical luminaries, communities of devoted colleagues, lifelong friends. At the centre of this intricate tapestry of relationships is her family: strong, ever supportive, warm. At the heart of this wondrous weaving of lives Marjorie places her younger brother, Roderick. Born with Down Syndrome when Marjorie was seven, he was at the centre of a fundamental life transformation for everyone involved.

Marjorie’s mother and aunt, both musicians, were intimately connected sisters. At opposite ends of the globe, one gave birth in New Zealand while the other studied music in London. Having found her way to anthroposophy in London on hearing of Roderick’s birth, Marjorie’s aunt made the decision to move to Dornach. Here, for seven years, she prepared herself to take up a significant initiative – to found what would become one of the first anthroposophical institution in New Zealand. Reflecting on these years, Marjorie remembers vividly the warmth and love surrounding her brother, rather than the anxiety and regret that often comes with such a birth.

At eighteen several critical events opened the door to Marjorie’s future: her father’s unanticipated death, the commencement of her nursing and midwifery training, and the move of her mother and brother to Hohepa, her aunt’s initiative to establish an anthroposophical support community for those with special needs. It is here that Marjorie would visit during her training, meeting and forming relationships with many anthroposophists invited to join or support the community. Intermittently immersed in the life of this community, Marjorie was often struck by what seemed to come from anthroposophy. Long standing questions found answers here, open answers not based on dogma. This openness was critically important for her. In considering her waking up to anthroposophy, what she recalls is a copy of Rudolf Steiner’s Occult Science an Outline coming into her hand and being invited to join the community’s anthroposophical doctor and nurse in their weekly eurythmy classes.

Wanting to complete her midwifery training in Scotland she, with two fellow nurses who had become close friends, decided to see Canada on the way. They chose Kamloops, British Columbia. Here Marjorie’s journey intersected that of her future husband, Philip. Their two young children were to lead them into their next life phases, a move to North Vancouver for the Waldorf School, and an invitation for Marjorie to take up what would become her significant work with young children. It was at this time that anthroposophy came into true focus for her. These young ones filled Marjorie with initiative. Completing her early childhood training at Emerson College in England, she became central to the development of early childhood education in North America, work that she nurtured for decades. She links her decision to join the Anthroposophical Society in 1973, when she was 35, to the ‘fire’ these children ignited in her. And, it was the sense of responsibility for all that this work means in our world that moved her to join the School of Spiritual Science in 1983.