Marion Hansom Boyer

Jan 20, 1941 - May 11, 2026

Harriet Marion Boyer, known to most as Marion, passed away on May 11, 2026, at the age of 85. She was born in Portland, Oregon, to Harriet Marion Lenahan Hansom and Albert Hansom, and spent her childhood in Spokane, where her beloved grandmother, Grata Lenahan, was particularly influential.

Marion attended Lewis and Clark High School, spent summers at Priest Lake, and began gathering the friends who would remain central to her life for the next eight decades. She called them her "kindergarten group," though the circle included friends from kindergarten to high school and beyond. Marion had no siblings and no children, but she was never without family. Her chosen family included the Hartungs, Walkers, Davises, and a number of others who became part of her inner circle. Many of her fellow teachers from Mercer Island, Lakeside, and Bainbridge Island became lifelong and especially close friends, including the "boat people" with whom she commuted by ferry to Bainbridge.

Marion earned her B.A. from Washington State University, her teaching certificate from Seattle University, and a master's degree in political science from the University of Connecticut. In the early 1970s, she lived in Mexico City and Cuernavaca and traveled widely through Mexico, Central America, and South America. These years began her lifelong learning of Spanish and her love of Mexican art and culture.

Her teaching career began on Mercer Island, where she taught at South Mercer Junior High and met Richard Boyer, whom she later married. They eventually divorced, but she kept the Boyer name. She later taught history at Mercer Island High School, serving for a time as head of the history department. She also taught at Lakeside School, Bainbridge Island High School, and Taipei American School in Taiwan, where she traveled extensively through Southeast Asia. Students gravitated to Marion. She made history feel alive and politics worth arguing about. Many remembered her for the rest of their lives.

Marion was also a co-founder of The Bakery in Pioneer Square, along with Gwen Davis Bassetti, Marian Maestretti, and Gordon Walker. The Bakery opened in 1972 in the newly refurbished Grand Central Hotel building, and later became Grand Central Bakery, a beloved Pacific Northwest institution.

In the midst of her teaching career, Marion took a sabbatical and spent a number of years in Washington, D.C., working with Jill Buckley at the FMR Group, a political consulting agency. There, she did research, strategy, and media production for candidates running for statewide and national office.

Marion loved history, politics, art, architecture, interior design, animals, good food and conversation, theater, movies, her bridge groups, and the company of smart, lively, interesting people. She was a wonderful writer. Even near the end of her life, she was still correcting our spelling. We will miss the nicknames she made up for many of us and used liberally.

She was funny, direct, generous, opinionated, loyal, and brave, and fiercely devoted to her friends and causes.

Marion requested no memorial service. Those who loved her can honor her by supporting public education and the arts, standing up for what is fair, not eating veal or lamb, and giving an animal a better life. Donations in Marion's memory may be made to the Seattle Humane Society.

Please share memories & photos on the guestbook, located below. 

Arrangements Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home of West Seattle